- Joined
- Oct 15, 2008
- Messages
- 3,316
- Points
- 0
There's still light at the end of the judicial tunnel...
MP threat case: Judge rejects man's guilty plea
By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent
A DISTRICT judge yesterday rejected the guilty plea of a man accused of threatening to harm Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua last month.
Ng Kim Ngweng, 49, a karung guni man, had initially admitted to the criminal intimidation charge resulting from a telephone conversation on Jan 12 with a customer service officer from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).
He is said to have threatened to cause hurt to Ms Phua with intent to cause her alarm, by telling the officer in Mandarin: 'I cannot take this anymore and I don't know what I'll do one day; I can't be sure...I get angry when I see her, so how can I not hit her?'
After the statement of facts had been read by a deputy public prosecutor, District Judge Jill Tan posed several questions to Ng, who was not represented by a lawyer.
She wanted to know if he intended for his threats to be told to the MP, so that she knew he was not happy with her and he wanted to hit her.
Ng said he merely wanted to voice his feelings, and had no intention to cause any harm to Ms Phua.
Judge Tan: 'I am not asking you if you wanted to cause hurt to her. I am asking if you intended to let her know about your threats.'
Ng replied: 'No. I just wanted to voice my feelings (to the MCYS officer). That's all.'
Asked if he meant to scare the MP, Ng again said no. 'I just felt good after I expressed my feelings,' he said through a Mandarin interpreter.
Since intention was relevant to the charge, Judge Tan decided to reject his guilty plea as he had clearly said he did not intend to cause alarm to the MP.
Ng will go on trial from March 2 to 4. He had requested that a lawyer be assigned to him, but yesterday, said he did not need one as he was 'happy with the interpreter'. He has been in remand since Feb 4 as he could not raise the $50,000 bail offered.
MP threat case: Judge rejects man's guilty plea
By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent
A DISTRICT judge yesterday rejected the guilty plea of a man accused of threatening to harm Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua last month.
Ng Kim Ngweng, 49, a karung guni man, had initially admitted to the criminal intimidation charge resulting from a telephone conversation on Jan 12 with a customer service officer from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).
He is said to have threatened to cause hurt to Ms Phua with intent to cause her alarm, by telling the officer in Mandarin: 'I cannot take this anymore and I don't know what I'll do one day; I can't be sure...I get angry when I see her, so how can I not hit her?'
After the statement of facts had been read by a deputy public prosecutor, District Judge Jill Tan posed several questions to Ng, who was not represented by a lawyer.
She wanted to know if he intended for his threats to be told to the MP, so that she knew he was not happy with her and he wanted to hit her.
Ng said he merely wanted to voice his feelings, and had no intention to cause any harm to Ms Phua.
Judge Tan: 'I am not asking you if you wanted to cause hurt to her. I am asking if you intended to let her know about your threats.'
Ng replied: 'No. I just wanted to voice my feelings (to the MCYS officer). That's all.'
Asked if he meant to scare the MP, Ng again said no. 'I just felt good after I expressed my feelings,' he said through a Mandarin interpreter.
Since intention was relevant to the charge, Judge Tan decided to reject his guilty plea as he had clearly said he did not intend to cause alarm to the MP.
Ng will go on trial from March 2 to 4. He had requested that a lawyer be assigned to him, but yesterday, said he did not need one as he was 'happy with the interpreter'. He has been in remand since Feb 4 as he could not raise the $50,000 bail offered.
