Foreign Talents? - Please Contribute

Vultan · Apr 30, 2014

Myanmar worker jailed 15 months for biting off chunk of colleague's ear

Published on Apr 29, 2014 3:31 PM
By Ian Poh

A construction worker from Myanmar who bit off a thumb-sized chunk of his colleague's ear was on Tuesday sentenced to 15 months in jail.

Min Min Hteik, 28, bit his countryman and colleague, Mr Naing Win, in the right ear while in a dormitory room the two men shared. The act, which came at the end of an unprovoked and prolonged attack last December, ripped a 4cm x 1cm segment off Mr Naing's ear and left him permanently disfigured.

Min pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt to his victim. When asked by the district court why he had attacked his dorm-mate, he said through an interpreter: "I am sorry your honour, at this time I was so drunk." But Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh pointed out that Min was not too drunk to know what he was doing. She added that voluntary intoxication leading to a violent offence was an aggravating factor.

On Dec 4 last year, Min had returned to his dormitory room in Boon Lay after drinking with a friend. Mr Naing was lying on the floor and using his mobile phone. Min shouted at him and kicked him. He then used a broomstick to hit his victim. Other residents tried to restrain him, but Min broke free, took a slipper from the nearby shoe rack and continud to hit Mr Naing. It was then that the biting happened.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · Apr 30, 2014

Canadian jailed 36 weeks, fined $2,000 for theft from ATMs

Published on Apr 29, 2014 5:12 PM
By Elena Chong

A Canadian tourist who stole money from automated teller machines using cloned cards in Singapore was jailed for 36 weeks and fined $2,000 on Tuesday.

Boris Kovac, 33, pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiring with others to steal from ATMs, and one charge of bringing in local and foreign currencies totalling $39,257 which was more than the prescribed amount of $30,000 without giving a report to an authorised officer at Changi Airport last November.

He withdrew $1,000 in the possession of the United Overseas Bank each time from OCBC ATMs at Paya Lebar Road and Orchard Road. Ten other charges were taken into consideration.

A district court heard that Kovac's role in the conspiracy was that of the end-user, that is, he makes the unauthorised withdrawals using the cloned ATM cards.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 2, 2014

15 months' jail for assault on roommate

Ian Poh
The Straits Times
Friday, May 02, 2014

SINGAPORE - Construction worker Min Min Hteik returned to his Boon Lay dormitory in the early hours of Dec 4 last year after a drinking session.

He spotted roommate Naing Win lying on the floor using a mobile phone - and launched a brutal, unprovoked attack on him.

Min Min Hteik, 28, a Myanmar national, used a broomstick and slipper to belt his fellow countryman - and finally bit off a large chunk of his right ear. During the attack, other residents in the dormitory pulled Min Min Hteik out of the room, but he broke free.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to 15 months' jail after admitting to the attack, which ripped a 4cm by 1cm segment off his roommate's ear and permanently disfigured Naing Win, 33.

When asked by District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim why he launched the attack, Min Min Hteik said through an interpreter: "I am sorry... At that time, I was drunk." He asked for the chance to continue working here to support his parents.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh pointed out that Min Min Hteik had not been too drunk to know what he was doing. Calling for a jail term of more than eight months, she said that voluntary intoxication leading to a violent offence could be regarded as an aggravating factor.

At the time of the incident, both men were working for a company which does painting and blasting works.

Highlighting the sequence of events, DPP Koh said the attack had continued even after witnesses tried to separate the two men. She added that Min Min Hteik, who had not previously offended, had demonstrated a relatively high degree of violence.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt to his colleague, the man could have been jailed for seven years, and fined or caned.

Vultan · May 2, 2014

Vietnamese man jailed 3 years, 3 months for robbing elderly coffeeshop helper

Published on May 2, 2014 4:13 PM
By Ian Poh

An overstaying Vietnamese man was on Friday given a jail term of three years and three months and 12 strokes of the cane for robbing an elderly coffeeshop helper.

Early one morning on March 6 this year, Nguyen Do Tam and two accomplices noticed an elderly man taking out his wallet - and saw that it contained a lot of cash.

The Vietnamese nationals then followed 66-year-old Kao Keng Kong, a coffeeshop stall assistant, to his Geylang workplace. It was dark and Kao was alone.

Nguyen went up to Mr Kao and covered his mouth with his hand long enough for an accomplice to find and make off with the wallet, which contained $1,000. Nguyen and his other accomplice followed suit in fleeing the scene.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 5, 2014

Vultan · May 5, 2014

Updated: 05/04/2014 18:34 | By Channel NewsAsia

Two men to be charged with rioting after assault over utilities bill

SINGAPORE: Two Indian nationals will be charged in court on Monday with rioting, after they allegedly attacked three housemates in a dispute over their utilities bill, police said on Sunday.

Police said they arrested the two men -- aged 29 and 36 -- for being part of a group of assailants who assaulted three other Indian men at a housing estate in Jurong West Street 1.

Police had -- at around 3.30am on May 1 -- received a report from one of the victims, who said he was assaulted by a housemate and eight other people.

Investigations revealed that the victim had a dispute with the 29-year-old suspect over the cost of their utilities bill.

The dispute escalated into violence, when the suspect and eight others assaulted the victim and two other housemates.

Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the others involved, police said.

A person convicted of rioting under Section 147 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, faces a jail term not exceeding seven years and shall also be liable for caning.

Foreigners convicted of serious offences are liable to be repatriated upon serving their sentences. - CNA/ec

Vultan · May 8, 2014

Man jailed 7 weeks for offences at Marina Bay Sands casino

Published on May 7, 2014 6:50 PM
By Ian Poh

A 38-year-old man was on Wednesday sentenced to seven weeks' jail over various offences committed at the Marina Bay Sands casino last month.

On three instances Islam Rafiqul, who is from Bangladesh, cheated the casino of $750 by placing bets in games of 'Sic-Bo' only after the results had already been announced, and bets were no longer being taken. He also fraudulently claimed $145 in winnings from 'Sic-Bo' games three times, by raising his hand to indicate he had placed winning bets when he had not.

On Wednesday Islam pleaded guilty to three charges of cheating. Another four counts of cheating and one of dishonest misappropriation were taken into consideration.

The maximum penalty for cheating while gambling is a jail term of seven years and a $150,000 fine.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 9, 2014

Updated: 05/09/2014 11:04 | By Channel NewsAsia

Certis CISCO officer charged with corruption

SINGAPORE: For allegedly taking a S$10 bribe, a Certis CISCO officer could end up S$100,000 poorer.

That is the maximum fine Kalaiarasan Muniandy is facing after being charged in court on Friday with corruptly obtaining a gratification of S$10 in return for a favour.

The 22-year-old Malaysian security officer said he intends to plead guilty.

On January 19, Kalaiarasan was carrying out his duties at Paya Lebar MRT station when he spotted Hasna, a domestic helper, drinking water.

The accused allegedly told her that she would be issued with a summons of S$300 for doing so and took down her particulars.

When the helper told him she was unable to pay the fine as she had only S$10 with her, the officer allegedly took the money and told her to leave.

When the helper's employer found out about the incident, she lodged a police report and the case was referred to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Kalaiarasan, who had been with Certis CISCO for only six months prior to the incident, has since been suspended.

He could be fined up to S$100,000, jailed for up to five years, or both upon conviction.

He will be back in court on May 16. - CNA/gn/fa

Vultan · May 16, 2014

Farmer who stole trolley bag from fellow Singapore Airlines passenger jailed a year

Published on May 15, 2014 4:49 PM
By Elena Chong

A Chinese farmer who pinched a bag from a fellow Singapore Airlines passenger was jailed for a year on Thursday.

Jiang Zhijun, 32, pleaded guilty to stealing Mr Pascal Blanchet's trolley bag on a flight from Singapore to Surabaya, Indonesia, at about 8.45am on March 25. He also admitted trying to steal another from businessman Krishnan Suppaiah beforehand.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dwayne Lum told the court how Jiang opened the overhead compartment and tried to steal Mr Suppaiah's black trolley bag but was spotted by the 40-year-old Singaporean who took his luggage back from him.

Jiang returned to his seat but about 15 minutes later Mr Suppaiah saw him walking up and down the plane's aisle before taking another black trolley bag from an overhead compartment and carrying it into the toilet.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 16, 2014

Housewife accused of attacking maid with iron, shower head and hot water

Published on May 15, 2014 1:45 PM
By Elena Chong

A housewife was charged with six counts of abusing her maid on Thursday.

Singapore permanent resident Nidhi Sinha, 31, is alleged to have abused Ms Mustainah Munari by pressing a hot iron on her shins, splashing hot water over her head, banging her head against a wall and hitting her with a shower head so hard that it broke.

On another occasion she allegedly hit her in the knee and back with an aluminium clothes prong.

The alleged abuse took place at Nidhi's Hillview Avenue apartment near Bukit Timah between May and August 2012.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 17, 2014

Re: No Country for Old Men

Norwegian tourist charged with assaulting hotel workers

Published on May 16, 2014 5:32 PM
By Elena Chong

A Norwegian tourist who allegedly attacked two hotel workers appeared in court on Friday to face five charges of assault, criminal trespass and disorderly behaviour.

Staale Lie Jorgensen, 34, is accused of repeatedly shouting and gesticulating with his hands outside Beach Centre on Beach Road at about 6am last Saturday.

Earlier, he allegedly committed criminal trespass by entering a room at Naumi Hotel in Seah Street to cause annoyance to two women guests.

He is also accused of slapping hotel worker Ms Nurul Shifaa Zakariah, 26, on the left arm and punching and kicking her colleague, Mr Vergel Dela Cruz Molano, also 26.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 17, 2014

Businessman jailed 10 weeks for planting pinhole camera in handicapped toilet

Published on May 16, 2014 1:10 PM
By Elena Chong

A former senior executive of a Japanese company who planted a pinhole camera under the sink of a handicapped toilet to film female colleagues was jailed for 10 weeks on Friday.

Shingo Yamamoto, 30, was caught after a 33-year-old woman noticed the camera drop to the floor in the restroom at the city office and called police.

The Japanese businessman, who lost his job as a result, had pleaded guilty to two of four charges of insulting modesty .

Investigations found that he had gone into the toilet at about 1pm on January 16 and taped the camera under the sink. He pointed it towards the toilet bowl and switched it on. Two women used the loo before it was found.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 20, 2014

Couple pocketed $11,500 in car-sale charade

Ian Poh
The Straits Times
Monday, May 19, 2014

Civil engineer Kankanamge Dayasena and his wife met a car salesman in Little India some 20 months ago and signed an agreement to sell their vehicle.

The very next day, the couple met a different dealer. Again they signed papers to sell their Toyota Vios, and again, they collected a good-faith deposit from the car dealer.

It was no mistake. Over the next six weeks, the duo tried to sell the vehicle to another eight firms - pocketing $11,500 in deposits along the way, for transactions they had no intention of completing.

Yesterday Kankanamge, 56, had his appeal against numerous cheating convictions and a 14-month jail term turned down in the High Court.

Both the Sri Lankan and his unemployed Singaporean wife, Rita Metha, had fought 10 counts of cheating with common intention, but were found guilty by a district court after a five-day joint trial. Metha, 28, did not file an appeal.

Saying yesterday that his work as a consultant engineer paid some $7,000 a month, Kankanamge told the court he would not have been involved in cheating cases involving such small sums.

He maintained his defence during the trial that his had been a case of mistaken identity, and that he had met only one of the 10 dealers.

Citing the trial judge's reasoning, however, deputy public prosecutors Victor Lim, Cheryl Lim and Foong Leong Parn said this was impossible since each of the firms targeted had spent some time negotiating terms with the couple.

The prosecutors added that Kankanamge, a first-time offender, had not shown any remorse or offered to make restitution to his victims.

"The dealers were just running their businesses," DPP Victor Lim said. "They trusted Kankanamge and paid him the deposits, trusting he would complete the sales."

The couple committed the cheating offences between Sept 29 and Nov 11, 2012, each time taking between $500 and $2,000 in cash or cheques from their victims.

Whenever terms had been agreed, Metha would sign the necessary documents as the car was in her name.

But the paperwork would hit a snag every time, when a finance firm, citing discrepancies with her signature in its records, withheld necessary information.

The sale would eventually fall through after the couple dragged their feet on resolving the matter. They would cut off contact when the dealers demanded the return of the deposits.

The maximum penalty for cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property is a jail term of 10 years and a fine.

Vultan · May 22, 2014

Two charged in court over scuffle outside State Courts

Published on May 21, 2014 2:32 PM
By Elena Chong

SINGAPORE - Two men were charged in court on Wednesday with fighting with one another outside the State Courts.

Vasily Chuply, 24, and Alexander Kalinin, 37, each faced a charge of disturbing public peace outside the Courts' premises at Havelock Square at 3.14pm on Feb 13 this year.

They were represented by Mr Chia Boon Teck and Mr Amarjit Singh respectively.

Both will be back in court for their cases to be mentioned on June 5.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 23, 2014

MRT molester wins appeal for shorter jail term

Selina Lum
The Straits Times
Friday, May 23, 2014

Two weeks after she was groped on a packed MRT train on her way to school, a 14-year-old girl found herself being molested by the same man a second time.

When she saw the construction worker on the train on a third occasion, she decided to make a police report.

Her molester - Forhad Abdul Rouf, 30, a Bangladeshi - saw his jail term cut from 15 to 11 months yesterday after a successful appeal to the High Court.

On the morning of Nov 6 last year, the teen was standing at a metal pole near the train door when Forhad touched her breast, moved his hand away, then groped her again.

Twelve days later, she was on her way to school when she felt someone rubbing her thigh - and realised that it was the same man who had molested her two weeks earlier.

She grabbed his hand to stop him as the train was too crowded for her to move, letting go only when she was able to get away.

Two days later, she saw him again on the train. She made a police report the next day.

Forhad was originally sentenced to 15 months' jail late last year after he pleaded guilty in the State Courts to three counts of outrage of modesty, with a fourth taken into consideration.

He appealed to the High Court for a shorter term. Yesterday, Justice Chao Hick Tin cut the jail term - from six months to two months - on one of the charges for rubbing the victim's thigh, saying it was not a private part.

Judge of Appeal Chao made it clear the court was not condoning his actions.

Every person who travels on public transport should feel "comfortable" and not feel concerned about others trying to take advantage of them, he said.

Vultan · May 30, 2014

Re: No Money No Honey

Molester gets four years' jail and caning

Ian Poh
The Straits Times
Thursday, May 29, 2014

SINGAPORE - A construction worker who molested two maids after following them into the lift was jailed for four years and ordered to be given nine strokes of the cane yesterday.

Bangladeshi national Zakir Hossain Nurul Hoque, 29, restrained his "girlfriends" as they returned to their employers' homes near Tanjong Pagar, before repeatedly squeezing their breasts and kissing them on the cheek.

On the first occasion on May 30 last year, he approached a 25-year-old Myanmar national as she was walking back to a block of flats.

At the lift lobby, he asked her twice to sit with him and grabbed her hand the second time but she turned him down.

Once inside the lift, he hugged her from behind and groped her through her clothes, only letting go after she bit his finger.

Three days later, Zakir Hossain tried unsuccessfully to befriend a 28-year-old Indonesian woman while she was washing her employer's vehicle but she warned him not to bother her.

She later refused his request to follow him and tried to return home but he dragged her out of the lift and molested her at a staircase landing.

He hugged her, held her hand and crossed his leg over hers to prevent her from moving.

He took her to the stairwell and tried to sit her down but stopped after she struggled and screamed at him.

Asking the court to impose a four-year sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ruth Teng said that Zakir Hossain had intruded on his victims in an intimate manner.

Pleading for leniency, Zakir Hossain told the court his family was dependent on his income. This included medical treatment fees for his father and money to put his siblings through school.

Zakir Hossain referred to each women as his "girlfriend".

He pleaded guilty to two counts of molestation by wrongful restraint, with an unrelated charge of behaving in a riotous manner taken into consideration.

The prescribed penalty for the offence is between two years and 10 years in jail as well as caning, with the minimum jail term raised to three if committed in a lift.

Vultan · May 30, 2014

Updated: 05/30/2014 20:28 | By Channel NewsAsia

Four jailed for scuffle outside MSL match at Jalan Besar

SINGAPORE: Four Malaysians arrested for disorderly behaviour outside Jalan Besar stadium have been sentenced to one week's jail.

Roslina Mohd Bakri and Raja Abdul Hadi Raja Rozhan, both 25 years old; 27-year-old Haridass Manoharan and 28-year-old Norkhaizan Jelani, pleaded guilty in court on Friday (May 30).

A fifth Malaysian arrested, 28-year-old Mohamed Kamil Kamal Basha, disputed some points in the statement of facts, and will have a pre-trial conference on June 9.

The five were part of a group of 30 fans of Malaysian football club match Johor Darul Takzim (JDT), who gathered outside Jalan Besar stadium last Tuesday (20 May) night. Many fans were enraged when they were not allowed into the stadium for a match between the LionsXII and JDT, and the Football Association of Singapore confirmed that a number of Malaysian fans were denied entry as they were holding tickets meant for Singaporean fans.

While a fine is more typical for these charges, the prosecution pushed for a short jail term because of several aggravating factors.

Firstly, the five arrested were shouting JDT slogans. Given the Singapore-Malaysia match happening at the time, the prosecution argued, there was a real risk that “attacks could have been made on persons on the basis of nationality”. Also, the disorderly behaviour went on for about half an hour, indicating a “high level of disobedience” to police instructions to stand down and disperse.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai urged the court to consider the incident in light of the Little India riots last year, which he noted was sparked off by rumours that a foreign worker hit by a bus had died. He argued that the same thing could have happened in this instance, through the “seemingly harmless and small time” actions of the suspects.

He said with the new National Stadium soon to be launched, a jail sentence would also be a timely warning against football and sports hooliganism in general.

- CNA/xy

Vultan · May 31, 2014

Passenger jailed for stealing money from Australian on plane

Published on May 30, 2014 5:11 PM
By Elena Chong

SINGAPORE - A Chinese national was jailed for nine months on Friday for stealing about $430 from an Australian on board an aircraft.

Zhang Rui, 39, a driver, pleaded guilty to stealing Hong Kong and Macau money totalling $429 from Australian helicopter pilot Marcus Philip Hildebrand, 40, on a Tiger Airways flight from Macau, China, to Singapore on May 8.

The court heard that a flight attendant was pushing a duty-free products cart on the plane when she found Zhang blocking the aisle. He was holding on to a black luggage bag with an Emirates tag on it. He then zipped it up and placed it back in the overhead compartment. He appeared to be flustered as he was doing so.

The flight stewardess felt suspicious and informed her colleague.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · May 31, 2014

Ex-auxiliary constable jailed for insulting modesty of women in lock-up

Published on May 30, 2014 5:06 PM

An auxiliary police officer who asked women held at a police lock-up to show him their bras was jailed for six months on Friday, May 30, 2014. -- ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

By Elena Chong

SINGAPORE - An auxiliary police officer who asked women held at a police lock-up to show him their bras was jailed for six months on Friday.

Malaysian Kalai Selvan Ramaiya, 28, was working for Aetos as an auxiliary police officer when he insulted the women's modesty at the Jurong police division lock-up on Oct 1 and 2 last year. He has left Aetos and is now unemployed.

A court heard that a 41-year-old Indonesian woman was alone in the station cell on Oct 1 when Kalai Selvan bent down and spoke to her through a pigeon-hole although it was not necessary to do so for them to hear each other.

As she came to the door and bent down to speak to him, he caught a glimpse of her cleavage. He told her she would be in remand for one week, and that he needed to check her bra, knowing full well it was not true.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Vultan · Jun 2, 2014

The fiendish five: China nationals dupe elderly women in elaborate scam

The older victim, Madam Goh Kah Keow, 72, was cheated of $401,450 worth of jewellery and cash.

Ronald Loh
The New Paper
Monday, Jun 02, 2014

SINGAPORE - They promised the two elderly women that they would pray for them and bless their valuables to avoid a calamity.

But it was all an elaborate scam and the group of five conmen were actually preying on their victims for their jewellery and cash. They eventually made off with valuables worth a total $439,000.

Yesterday, Li Lianying, 50, and Li Peng, 45, pleaded guilty in court for scheming with three others to deceive Madam Goh Kah Keow, 72, of jewellery and cash worth $401,450.

The two Chinese nationals also admitted to cheating Madam Chua Peck Har, 66, of jewellery and cash worth $37,550.

The three other Chinese nationals - Li Cai Hong, 45, Li Lian Ying, 40, and Li Tu Wang, 43 - are on the run.

Court documents stated that the five arrived in Singapore from Hong Kong on Nov 18 last year. During their stay here, they hatched a plan to cheat elderly women.

On Nov 20, they came across Madam Goh alone at a bus stop near Roxy Square.

Li Lianying approached her and told a story about her "daughter who was hospitalised in Taiwan with an incurable disease".

She asked whether Madam Goh knew of a medium who could help her "daughter".

At this point, Cai Hong walked past and claimed that she knew a medium. He offered to take Lianying and Madam Goh to him.

Madam Goh, who felt sympathetic towards Lianying, decided to follow the two China women. As they were about to leave the bus stop, a third China woman, Lian Ying, came along.

Cai Hong claimed that Lian Ying was the medium's granddaughter and approached her. Cai Hong and Lianying then pretended to plead with Lian Ying for help. Madam Goh, who was duped, joined in.

Meanwhile, Li Peng and Tu Wang kept watch from a distance.

Lian Ying instructed her two female accomplices and Madam Goh to wait at the bus stop and said she would seek the medium's advice.

But when she returned, she turned to Madam Goh and claimed that she was "haunted by vicious spirits who were trying to harm her", and that only a "high priest" could help her. Feeling helpless, Madam Goh asked if the medium could help her.

PRAYER

Lian Ying told her to bring all her savings and jewellery for a prayer session.

Cai Hong accompanied Madam Goh to her home, where she dug up her jewellery, cash and bank books. She withdrew all her savings and returned to the bus stop.

There, she handed over her valuables worth $401,450, which were then placed in a green bag.

Madam Goh was asked to close her eyes for a "prayer session" during which the trio switched the bag with another similar one.

She was handed the swopped bag and instructed to return to the bus stop three days later.

Lian Ying also told her not to open the bag before then, or the prayers would be rendered void.

Madam Goh agreed and left with the bag.

She returned to the bus stop on Nov 23, but none of the Chinese nationals turned up.

She finally opened the bag on Dec 1, only to find water bottles and newspapers inside. She made a police report that day.

Court documents also stated that the group had cheated Madam Chua of jewellery and cash worth $37,550 in similar fashion.

The five left Singapore on Nov 20 last year, but returned on March 9.

Lianying and Li Peng were arrested when they arrived at Changi Airport.

The other three, who were on the same flight, escaped to China by taking another flight the same day. They had bought the return tickets within the transit area.

Court documents stated that Lianying had surrendered $4,225 as restitution to both victims.

Yesterday, District Judge Soh Tze Bian said that given the large amount, the sentence should reflect the offence.

The duo will be back in court on June 19 for sentencing.

If found guilty, they each face up to 10 years' jail and a fine for each charge.

$439,000

The total amount the five China nationals made off with from duping two elderly women

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