Parliament vandal acquitted as he is mentally unfit
By Zul Othman, TODAY | Posted: 16 February 2009 2304 hrs
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SINGAPORE: A man who vandalised a wall at Singapore's Parliament House last month has been acquitted, because authorities found Koh Chan Meng to be of unsound mind when he committed the offence.
Mr Koh will be warded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) until further notice.
In a report to the Subordinate Court, a doctor from IMH said Mr Koh had "a relapse of schizophrenia... secondary to his non-adherence to medication".
"He was unable to explain the reason of going to Parliament House or provide a consistent explanation of what he was doing at the time of the alleged offence, or his intention of doing so," wrote Dr Emily Ho.
The accused stood silently in the dock on Monday, as the charges and report were read before District Judge Roy Neighbour.
Mr Koh did not plead guilty because he was mentally unfit at the time. His lawyer Noor Mohamed Marican said Mr Koh regretted the incident and "that it was his fault for not taking his medicine regularly".
The unemployed 48-year-old was slapped with three counts of vandalism after he was caught scribbling on the wall outside Parliament House at North Bridge Road - twice on Jan 13, and once on Jan 14.
He was detained by Cisco guards and remanded for a psychiatric assessment.
Police did not respond to queries as to why Mr Koh was not spotted by Parliament guards on the first day, especially since the area is under security camera surveillance.
It is also unknown if the Police had already been alerted to the incident and were already investigating it when he was caught.
- CNA/ir
By Zul Othman, TODAY | Posted: 16 February 2009 2304 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
SINGAPORE: A man who vandalised a wall at Singapore's Parliament House last month has been acquitted, because authorities found Koh Chan Meng to be of unsound mind when he committed the offence.
Mr Koh will be warded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) until further notice.
In a report to the Subordinate Court, a doctor from IMH said Mr Koh had "a relapse of schizophrenia... secondary to his non-adherence to medication".
"He was unable to explain the reason of going to Parliament House or provide a consistent explanation of what he was doing at the time of the alleged offence, or his intention of doing so," wrote Dr Emily Ho.
The accused stood silently in the dock on Monday, as the charges and report were read before District Judge Roy Neighbour.
Mr Koh did not plead guilty because he was mentally unfit at the time. His lawyer Noor Mohamed Marican said Mr Koh regretted the incident and "that it was his fault for not taking his medicine regularly".
The unemployed 48-year-old was slapped with three counts of vandalism after he was caught scribbling on the wall outside Parliament House at North Bridge Road - twice on Jan 13, and once on Jan 14.
He was detained by Cisco guards and remanded for a psychiatric assessment.
Police did not respond to queries as to why Mr Koh was not spotted by Parliament guards on the first day, especially since the area is under security camera surveillance.
It is also unknown if the Police had already been alerted to the incident and were already investigating it when he was caught.
- CNA/ir
