Foreign talent's contributions to Singapore

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$2,000 fine for unmasked man who abused cabby while drunk​

Francis Dion James could have been fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to a year, or both. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

Mar 15, 2022

SINGAPORE - After consuming alcohol, a man tried to get into a taxi that had been booked by another and abused the driver when he was told to leave.
Francis Dion James, 52, was also not wearing a mask during the altercation.
On Tuesday (March 15), the Australian citizen was fined $2,000 after pleading guilty to one charge under the Protection from Harassment Act.
Another two charges, of failing to wear a mask under Covid-19 regulations and causing annoyance while drunk, were taken into consideration during his sentencing.
The court heard that the cab driver, Mr Purvis Tay, 48, was waiting for his passenger in the Boat Quay area at around 9pm on June 4 last year, when James tried to board the vehicle.
When he realised that James was not the one who had booked his taxi, Mr Tay tried to get him to leave - but to no avail.
Unable to take control of the situation, he called the police saying: "I got a drunkard in my taxi. He is not supposed to be inside as he did not book the taxi."

James then pushed Mr Tay repeatedly and hurled expletives at him. He was captured on closed-circuit television footage not wearing a mask at the time.
When the police arrived, James was non-compliant.
Said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling: "He was observed to be unstable in his gait, reeked strongly of alcohol and had a flushed face."
In mitigation, James' lawyer Cheryl Sim from Regent Law said her client had made compensation to the victim and apologised to him in person.
She added that going through criminal proceedings has been trying for her client, causing him to miss out on employment opportunities and the birth of his grandchild.
"He has also taken time to reflect on his behaviour and resolved to give up alcohol forever," she said.
For using insulting words towards a public service worker, James could have been fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to a year, or both.

 

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Jail and fine for man who kicked police officer, caused public annoyance while drunk​

Cameron Lachlan Milne was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail and received a fine of $5,000. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Jean Iau

MAR 18, 2022

SINGAPORE - A night out drinking for a private jet pilot has earned him time behind bars after he abused police officers and caused annoyance while drunk.
Cameron Lachlan Milne, 40, climbed onto a lorry and threw equipment around, which prompted one of the workers doing cable installation works for the National Day Parade to call the police.
The Australian then tried to leave but fell into some bushes.
While falling, he grabbed a national serviceman, who was escorting the workers, and tore his shirt.
When the police arrived and put him into their car, Milne lashed out and kicked one of the officers.
On Friday (March 18), Milne was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail and a fine of $5,000 for causing hurt and using abusive words to a public servant, as well as causing annoyance to others while he was drunk.
Five other similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

The incident happened after Milne had drinks with friends in the Boat Quay area on June 14, 2018, and consumed two pints of beer.
He also later shared two bottles of vodka with his friends at a bar in Pan Pacific Singapore.
Milne left the bar in the wee hours of June 15 and was in Marina Square to buy water, when he approached a lorry near a group of workers doing cable installation works.

One of the workers saw Milne throwing their equipment around and told him to get off the lorry, but Milne, who was smelling of alcohol, stumbled around and spoke incoherently.
After the police arrived and arrested him, he kicked one of the officers while inside the police car. Milne also directed various expletives at the officer.
The officer was later found to have sustained swelling, mild tenderness, and bruising behind his left ear as a result of the assault.
Milne's lawyer, Mr Anand Nalachandran from Forte Law, told the court that his client had just returned from London and "in that jet-lagged state, made the error in judgment of consuming excessive alcohol without dinner".
"Alcohol intoxication does not excuse or justify this behaviour - but this was a wholly uncharacteristic lapse and since then, our client has sought counselling," said Mr Nalachandran in mitigation.

For causing public annoyance while intoxicated, Milne could have been fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
For using abusive words to a public worker, he could have been fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to 12 months, or both.
Voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant carries a jail term of up to seven years, or a fine, or caning, or any combination of these punishments.
Milne will begin serving his sentence on March 25.

 

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Chinese national took upskirt photos of 400 women while working in NTU​

Guo Zhihong was sentenced to 10 months and five weeks' jail. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Samuel Devaraj


MAR 21, 2022

SINGAPORE - While working as a research staff member at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a Chinese national was caught taking an upskirt photo of a woman at a shopping centre in Orchard Road.
During a raid of his home last year, police found similar photos of about 400 women in various locations, including at NTU, various shopping malls and MRT stations.
Guo Zhihong was sentenced to 10 months and five weeks' jail in court on Monday (March 21) after he pleaded guilty to two voyeurism charges and one charge of insulting the modesty of a woman.
District Judge Kok Shu En agreed with the prosecution's labelling of Guo as a "prolific serial upskirter" given the number of women he had taken photos of.
According to court documents, Guo was working at NTU's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering on a short-term employment pass at the time of the offences.
An NTU spokesman told The Straits Times that Guo’s employment with the university was terminated on April 22 last year.
“NTU has a zero-tolerance stance towards all forms of harassment, including voyeurism and sexual misconduct,” the spokesman added.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Wen Kym told the court on Monday that at about 6pm on April 11 last year, Guo went to Orchard MRT station with plans to have dinner alone and record upskirt images.
At about 8.15pm, a man who was walking from Ion Orchard towards Orchard MRT station with his girlfriend, saw Guo walking closely behind two other women while holding his cellphone below one of the women's shorts.
The man - Mr Seah Choon Kong - and his girlfriend continued observing Guo as they walked towards Wheelock Place.

While Guo and the two women were on an escalator, Mr Seah saw him take upskirt images of one of the women. When they reached the basement level, Mr Seah asked the two women if Guo was their friend.
DPP Lee said: "After confirmation that (Guo) was not their friend, the witness told (them) that (Guo) had been following them for some time and had behaved suspiciously, by standing close to them and filming them from a low angle."
Mr Seah then confronted Guo and asked to see the photo gallery on his phone.
Guo refused and denied taking any upskirt photos. He was also seen fiddling with his phone, seemingly trying to reset it but Mr Seah stopped him from doing so.
When Guo eventually unlocked his phone, he showed Mr Seah and the two women a random album that had no photos. He also dimmed his screen so the others could not view it clearly.
He gave them many excuses on why they could not check his phone.

When he tried to leave, Mr Seah and two other male passers-by detained him, while Mr Seah's girlfriend notified the security officers of Wheelock Place.
They questioned Guo, who again denied taking upskirt photos, and refused to show them his photo gallery.
The police were called and police officers found multiple photos of women's buttocks in his phone.
Guo admitted he had recorded upskirt images of women without their consent in the past few weeks.
On April 12 last year, police raided Guo's home and seized two other mobile phones, a laptop, two iPads and a hard disk drive.
Upon investigation, it was found that Guo had recorded upskirt images from 2015 until his arrest in 2021.
DPP Lee said Guo photographed full-body back views and upskirt views of women in skirts, shorts or yoga pants whom he found attractive.
In her sentencing submissions, the DPP added: "The offences are deliberately committed with pre-meditation as the accused has admitted to planning outings with the purpose of recording upskirt images of women.

"This deliberate, persistent course of offending conduct underscores the need for specific deterrence."
Speaking via a translator, Guo said in mitigation he had taken the photos with a phone and did not buy equipment such as a pinhole camera.
He added: "I took still images instead of videos and admit that I had not (thought about) the victims...
"I have been overseas for more than three years without going home... I will not reoffend."
For each voyeurism charge, Guo could have been jailed for up to two years and fined.
For the count of insulting a woman's modesty, he could have been jailed for up to a year and fined.

 

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Jail, caning for man who took part in 2014 heist involving more than $624k in cash​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Mar 24, 2022

SINGAPORE - He was part of a group that robbed the manager of a money-changing business in 2014, and made off with more than $624,000 in cash.
David Mark Mari, now 41, and eight other men left Singapore for Malaysia after committing the heist that took place in the presence of their victim's two-year-old son.
David, who was paid $7,000 for taking part in the robbery, was later caught in Malaysia and sent back to Singapore on July 28, last year.
On Thursday (March 24), he was sentenced to seven years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a robbery charge.
Most of his accomplices, who were then between 29 and 44 years old, have been dealt with in court earlier. All of them were given jail terms with caning.
They are: Ravi Sandhira Sagaran, Vekneswaran Sekaran, Tachana Moorthy Peromal, Saravanak Kumar Karunanithy, Selvam Karupaya and Annadurai Raman.
The court case involving an eighth man, Baskaran Balakrishnan, now 39, is still pending.A ninth man, Sivaraam Monion, then 29, is still at large.

Eight of the men are Malaysians while Annadurai was a Singapore permanent resident at the time.
The victim was a 35-year-old Singapore permanent resident.
His father-in-law, who lived in Aljunied Crescent, was the director of the money-changing firm where he worked.


The court heard that some time around April 2014, some of the men jointly planned to commit robbery and make off with cash transported by the firm's couriers.
Annadurai roped in David five months later.
On Nov 4, 2014, the offenders got ready for the heist - one day before committing the offence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yong Ngee said: "The robbers also wore balaclavas - face masks which they had previously prepared - to conceal their faces during the robbery.
"They also placed plasters over their fingertips so as not to leave traces of their fingerprints behind during the robbery."
The victim and his son left their home at around midnight the next day and drove a car to Changi Airport to pick up two of the company's couriers.
One of them was carrying a bag containing more than $624,000.

Court documents do not state if the pair had flown into Singapore with the monies.
The bag was placed in the boot of the car and the victim then drove the couriers to their homes in Bedok.
He was on his way to his father-in-law's home to store the cash when the robbers ambushed his car at an open-air carpark at around 12.50am.
The victim had just reversed his vehicle into a parking lot when David purposely stopped his car perpendicular to it, trapping the victim.
The terrified victim then locked all the doors of his car.
One of the robbers broke a window on the driver's side of the vehicle and shouted at the victim, demanding that he exit his vehicle.
One of the robbers also threatened the victim and told him in Tamil: "You want me to kill your son?"
The DPP said: " One of the robbers then reached into the victim's car to unlock and open its door. (He) also removed the keys from the ignition preventing the victim from driving away."

One of the robbers also grabbed the victim's collar and dragged him out of the car, before punching the victim once on his body.
"The victim was then restrained outside his car...All (this) while, the victim's then two-year-old son was seated in the front passenger seat," added the DPP.
The robbers took the bag from the boot of the victim's car and placed it in David's car before fleeing the scene.
An eyewitness from a nearby block of flats saw the heist and alerted the police.
The robbers fled to Malaysia but most of them were arrested and brought back to Singapore.
The court heard that most of the monies have not been recovered.

 

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Malaysian jailed after giving another man his boarding pass at Changi Airport​

The pair met in Changi Airport and the exchange was done in a toilet. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Samuel Devaraj

Mar 24, 2022


SINGAPORE - An unemployed Malaysian agreed to hand over a boarding pass in his name to another man to enable the latter to fly to Germany, in exchange for money.
The other person, who is from Sri Lanka, wanted to go to Berlin for better job opportunities.
The pair met in Changi Airport - after flying in from Kuala Lumpur and Colombo separately on Feb 10 - and the exchange was done in a toilet.
On Thursday (March 24), the Malaysian man Thasrathan Jegatheson, 49, pleaded guilty to a cheating charge in court and was sentenced to four months' jail.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En told the court that 26-year-old Mohanathas Kaniyamuthan engaged a human trafficking syndicate in January this year, with his family paying about $13,300.
In February, Thasrathan received a call from a man named Raja, a passenger he met while working as a flight attendant for Malaysia Airlines, asking if he wanted to participate in the arrangement.
Although Thasrathan knew the job, which would see him get paid over RM3,000 (S$965) and an opportunity to spend two days in Bangkok, was illegal, he agreed, due to his financial circumstances.

Thasrathan gave Raja details which included his passport number, Malaysian identity number and passport serial code.
He was asked to take a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and pass the result to Mohanathas.
After an earlier attempt to execute the plan was cancelled due to an invalid PCR test, Thasrathan took a Scoot flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore on Feb 10.

The same day, Mohanathas boarded a flight from Colombo, Sri Lanka, that transited in Singapore.
While he used his own passport for this flight, he was instructed to collect the boarding pass and other travel documents from Thasrathan in Singapore in exchange for US$1,000 (S$1,360) cash, and then use a forged passport in Thasrathan's name to travel to Berlin.
The pair was told how the other man looks like and not to communicate by speech, only by gestures.
They met at Transfer Area B of Changi Airport and made the exchange of documents and money while in adjoining cubicles in the toilet.


After they parted ways, Mohanathas was arrested by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. Court documents do not indicate why he was hauled up.
He presented his legitimate boarding pass to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to the officers, but they did a more thorough search and found the boarding pass to Berlin and travel documents handed to him by Thasrathan.
They also found the forged passport in a special compartment in the luggage.
Thasrathan, who had gone for a meal and a smoke, was later arrested by ICA officers.
DPP Chong said: "The messages on the phone between him and Raja could not be retrieved as he had complied with Raja's instructions to delete the messages.
"(Thasrathan) cooperated with the authorities after he was arrested, but was unable to provide further substantive information on Raja beyond Raja's phone number."
The DPP asked for four to five months' imprisonment for Thasrathan.
In his written sentencing submissions, he said: "(Thasrathan) flew to Singapore for the express purpose of the fraud. The fact the parties did not exit through to immigration would further reduce the possibility of capture and checks.
"The entire operation was carefully premeditated, and (Thasrathan) kept in close contact with Raja throughout directing the operation."
For cheating by personation, Thasrathan could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

 

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Ex-CEO of Prive Group who assaulted boy, 13, gets 12 months of mandatory treatment​

Vu Han Jean-Luc Kha arriving at State Courts on March 2, 2022. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Jean Iau

Mar 29, 2022

SINGAPORE - The former chief executive of food and beverage firm The Prive Group who verbally and physically assaulted a 13-year-old boy was sentenced to 12 months of mandatory treatment on Tuesday (March 29).
A report to see if Vu Han Jean-Luc Kha, 44, would be suitable for a mandatory treatment order (MTO) for bipolar disorder found he could have suffered a "manic episode with possible psychosis" which could have provided a contributory link between his mental illness and the offences.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yong Ngee asked for Kha's sentence to be delayed to give the prosecution time to decide if it would appeal the sentence. The prosecution had earlier asked for at least eight weeks' imprisonment with a fine.
Offenders given an MTO will undergo treatment for their mental conditions in lieu of jail time.
Kha was last year convicted of one count of assault and another for harassment of the boy he had met in a lift in Nov 22, 2019.
The court heard that the victim and his then 12-year-old brother were in a lift in Parklane Shopping Mall in Selegie at around 8.15pm when an intoxicated Kha and another man, then 41, joined the boys.
Kha directed lewd comments at the victim, causing him to feel alarmed.

DPP Goh said that for no apparent reason, Kha then punched the victim on the left temple, causing him to fall backwards and slam his left upper arm on the elevator's handrails.
He then hurled vulgarities at the victim, who grabbed Kha's hands to prevent him from hitting him again.
Kha exclaimed: "You want to challenge me? Why do you want to challenge me?"

The other man held Kha back and pushed him out of the lift after it stopped on the first storey. But Kha refused to leave and slapped the victim on the left cheek.
A man who saw the attack detained Kha and the other man and called the police.
The victim suffered injuries, including a bruised temple, and was still scared of taking a lift about a year later. He also experienced flashbacks of the attack and had difficulties sleeping.
On Tuesday, Kha's lawyer Teh Ee-von told the court: "My client was in a manic episode at the time and he was not consciously aware (the victim) was a minor. He did not single out the victim because he was a minor."
District Judge Lim Tse Haw reminded Kha of the consequences of breaching the MTO, which include revocation.

The judge noted that the suitability report, prepared by a psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), stated that Kha suffers from bipolar disorder, a treatable mental illness. The report also said Kha has since been responding well to treatment.
He called the offences "deplorable", noting Kha's unprovoked attack against a vulnerable and young victim.
However, Judge Lim said he was of the view that the offences "are not too heinous to rule out rehabilitation" since it is possible there was a contributory link between Kha's bipolar disorder and his offending behaviour.
For assault, Kha could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.
For harassment, an offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $5,000.

 

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Company director jailed for operating excavator without training, leading to worker's death​

Kok Yufeng
Transport Correspondent

Mar 29, 2022

SINGAPORE - Despite having no formal training on how to operate an excavator, the director of a construction waste disposal company hopped into one to move it out of the way of a worker unloading waste from a skip bin truck.
But while Kasi Seenivasan, 58, was operating the excavator, it struck the worker who was standing near the truck, causing him to hit his head and resulting in his death.
For committing a negligent act at work that endangered the safety of others, Kasi, a Singapore permanent resident, was jailed for six months and two weeks on Monday (March 28).
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a statement on Tuesday that the director of SKN Transport and Services faced two other charges that were taken into consideration during sentencing.
One was for failing to ensure the safety of the worker as the director of SKN and the other was for hiring the deceased worker illegally.
MOM's investigations found that Kasi was not equipped with the skills to handle an excavator safely.
But after his company purchased one in September 2018, he would operate it on his own within his company premises in Jalan Papan in Jurong.

While training courses on how to operate excavators are available, Kasi learnt to operate the machine by observing how others did it, court documents said.
The fatal accident occurred on March 1, 2019, some time after 6.10pm.
The deceased worker, Mr Cabrieal Edwin Jayakumar, who was illegally employed by SKN as a truck driver, was driving a skip bin truck at the company premises to offload some hardcore waste, which consists of construction waste, bricks, tiles, rocks and gravel.
But at the place where the skip bin was to be emptied, the skip bin's door was blocked by an excavator parked nearby.
Kasi tried to move the excavator out of the way but ended up hitting Mr Jayakumar, who was standing near the left rear side of the truck.
The worker was taken to National University Hospital, where he died the next day. The cause of death was certified as a head injury.

MOM's prosecutor said Kasi had operated the excavator in an unsafe manner as he had failed to keep a proper lookout and appreciate the turning radius of the excavator, causing it to hit Mr Jayakumar.
On Tuesday, MOM's director of Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, Mr Sebastian Tan, said the accident could have been prevented if a trained worker had operated the excavator instead.
Mr Tan added: "Kasi's negligence shows a complete lack of focus on workers' safety. MOM would like to remind all stakeholders to ensure vehicles and machinery are operated only by trained personnel, to prevent further occurrences of such accidents."
For committing a negligent act at work that endangered the safety or health of himself or others, Kasi could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to $30,000, or both.

 

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2 years' jail for woman who acted as money mule for scam proceeds​

Dominic Low

Mar 31, 2022

SINGAPORE - A 38-year-old woman has been sentenced to two years' jail over her role in a money-laundering syndicate that handled the criminal proceeds of Nigerian scammers.
Aminorindah Haeruman was one of the money mules in the group, which had helped the scammers move more than $1.35 million out of Singapore.
She pleaded guilty on Thursday (March 31) to two counts of conspiring with Rohaiza Alap - her 47-year-old former sister-in-law - to receive criminal proceeds using her bank accounts.
Aminorindah also admitted to a charge of instigating another woman to use her bank accounts for a similar purpose.
Five other similar charges were taken into consideration by Principal District Judge Toh Yung Cheong during sentencing on Thursday.
Aminorindah had been recruited by Rohaiza to receive money in her bank accounts from a group of Nigerian scammers based in Malaysia.
She would retain about 7 per cent to 8 per cent of the sums received before handing the remaining money to Rohaiza, said the police in a statement on Thursday.

Despite the Commercial Affairs Department advising her not to provide her bank account details to others or to receive funds on behalf of others, Aminorindah continued to work with Rohaiza.
She also recruited two other people to receive criminal proceeds using their bank accounts.
They would withdraw the money and hand the cash to Aminorindah, who then gave them a part of it as commission, said the police.
Court records show that Aminorindah's jail term has been deferred to April 14.
Rohaiza, who provided 25 bank accounts to receive criminal proceeds from the scammers, was sentenced to jail for seven years and four weeks last August.
Another money mule involved in the operation, Rohaizad Mahat, was jailed for seven months in December 2019.
In their statement, the police said they take a serious view on scams and related money-laundering activities.
"The police will not hesitate to take stern enforcement action against individuals who commit these offences and persons who facilitate these offences by knowingly allowing their bank accounts to be used by scammers to receive monies, hide their tracks, and launder benefits from criminal conduct," they added.
For each of her offences, Aminorindah could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.

 

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Condo killer litter: Aussie who threw bottle that fatally struck grandfather of nine jailed 5 years' and 6 months​

Andrew Gosling (left) pleaded guilty to committing a rash act that led to the death of delivery driver Nasiari Sunee. PHOTOS: ST FILE, NAS SURIATI NASIARI

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Apr 8, 2022

SINGAPORE - He came to Singapore to look for a job but one month after he arrived here, Australian Andrew Gosling committed a senseless crime which led to the death of a grandfather of nine.
On Friday (April 8), Gosling, now 49, was sentenced to five years' and six months in jail, after he flung a bottle from the seventh storey of a condominium in Spottiswoode Park Road, hitting the head of 73-year-old Nasiari Sunee, who later died.
In what the prosecutors had described as offences that "demonstrated hostility towards Muslims" and were "religiously aggravated", Gosling flung a bottle from the seventh storey of a condominium in Spottiswoode Park Road towards a group of unsuspecting Malay-Muslims at a barbecue area on the fifth storey.
It struck the head of delivery driver Nasiari, 73, fracturing his skull, and he later died in hospital.
The bottle ricocheted off the elderly man's head and hit the right shoulder of his wife, 69-year-old Madam Manisah Sitri, whose right arm had to be in a sling for about two months.
Gosling had pleaded guilty in February this year to committing a rash act that led to Mr Nasiari's death andhe also admitted to causing grievous hurt to Madam Manisah.
Deputy Public Prosecutors G. Kannan, Thiagesh Sukumaran and Ben Mathias Tan stated in court documents that Gosling had entered Singapore on July 15, 2019, and rented a unit on the seventh storey of the Spottiswoode 18 condominium the following month.

On Aug 18 that year, after drinking alcohol, he looked down from his balcony and saw a group of Malay-Muslims having a gathering at the barbecue area two storeys below. Mr Nasiari and his wife were part of the group.
The prosecutors said that during investigations, Gosling admitted that it had crossed his mind he "ought to use a weapon, such as a gun", to shoot the group of about 15 people.
But he later dismissed the thought as he felt it would be a "heinous" act.

At around 8.30pm, Gosling left his unit to throw some rubbish in a common chute at the lift lobby.
While there, he found an empty wine bottle, which weighed about 600g, and flung it towards the group to "startle" them.
In an earlier statement, the Attorney-General's Chambers said: "He ran from the scene after throwing the bottle to evade detection, shouting crude, religiously charged vulgarities about Muslims. Gosling's actions were outrageous, senseless and appalling."
The DPPs also told the court that Gosling committed the act as he was "angry and upset" at the terrorist attacks committed by "Islamic fundamentalist groups in Bali and Melbourne that had killed Australian citizens".
A psychiatric report said Gosling's anti-Muslim thoughts at the time of the offences were "obsessive negative thoughts" that he was prone to when intoxicated and "did not represent (his) true feelings or intentions".
The bottle hit the couple, and two ambulances took them to the Singapore General Hospital. Police later interviewed all residents at the condominium.
On Aug 20, 2019, two officers interviewed Gosling and showed him the bottle. He lied, claiming he had never seen it before.
Three days later, Gosling was told to present himself at the Central Police Division to provide a statement.
He then realised that the bottle could be traced to him after he provided his DNA and fingerprints to the authorities. Gosling finally surrendered to the police on Aug 28, 2019.
Gosling's lawyers, Senior Counsel N. Sreenivasan, Mr S. Balamurugan, Ms Gloria James and Mr Kevin Liew, had said in their mitigation plea that Gosling's actions during the incident did not reflect his true intentions and were unlikely to have been religiously motivated.
In an earlier proceeding, they told the court: "The words that the accused uttered did not carry the weight of any anti-Muslim tendencies - rather, they were a result of his negative obsessive thoughts that manifested while he was intoxicated.
"The thoughts that were verbalised were a product of his disinhibited and impaired mental state at the time and the fact that he was prone to negativity when he drank."
The prosecutors, however, stressed that Gosling had harboured hostile thoughts towards Muslims and acted on his hostility by aiming the bottle at an area near Mr Nasiari's table.
For causing death by committing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined.

 

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Woman seen drunk outside Orchard Towers fined for hurling vulgarities at cop​

Daria Sevostianova was fined $1,600 after she pleaded guilty to a harassment charge. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Apr 26, 2022

SINGAPORE - A Russian woman, who was arrested after she was seen drunk outside Orchard Towers shortly after midnight in May 2021, hurled vulgarities at a policewoman in a lock-up.
Daria Sevostianova, 25, was fined $1,600 on Tuesday (April 26) after she pleaded guilty to a harassment charge.
Two other charges, including one count of using criminal force on a police officer, were considered during sentencing.
Court documents did not mention Sevostianova's occupation.
At around 11pm on May 15 last year, the police received a call about two women fighting in a toilet on the first storey of the shopping mall in Orchard Road.
It was not stated if Sevostianova was one of them. But according to court documents, she was later seen drunk outside Orchard Towers at 12.02am that night.
Sevostianova was arrested for being a public nuisance and taken to a lock-up at the Police Cantonment Complex.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen said when she later underwent medical examination at the triage area of the lock-up, she hurled vulgarities at a policewoman, who warned her about her language.
Sevostianova also threw a blood-stained piece of tissue paper at the officer.
Urging the court to sentence her to a fine of between $2,000 and $3,000 on Tuesday, DPP Koh said: "The offender here displayed a disregard for authority, verbally abusing and throwing a blood-stained piece of tissue paper at a police officer who was merely discharging her lawful duties."
For harassment, an offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.

 

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NUS professor fired for inappropriate behaviour with student​

Mr Ethan Putterman was an associate professor at NUS' political science department. PHOTO: FASS.NUS.EDU.SG

David Sun
Correspondent

Apr 28, 20222

SINGAPORE - The National University of Singapore (NUS) has fired another professor for misconduct.
Mr Ethan Putterman, an associate professor at NUS' political science department, had his employment terminated after it was found that he behaved inappropriately and unprofessionally towards a student.
In response to queries from The Straits Times about Mr Putterman, a spokesman for NUS' Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences said a police report has also been filed and that police investigations are ongoing.
The response did not name Mr Putterman.
"We have received a complaint regarding allegations of misconduct by a faculty member towards a student," she said.
"Upon receiving the complaint, NUS immediately issued the staff with a no-contact order to prohibit interaction with the student. The staff was also suspended from work while investigations were carried out."
A committee of inquiry (COI) formed by the school found that Mr Putterman had breached the code of conduct for NUS staff.
"All staff are expected to adhere to the code of conduct for NUS staff and hold themselves up to high standards of professional and personal conduct," said the spokesman.
"Staff who contravene the code of conduct will face disciplinary sanctions, which may include dismissal for serious breaches."
The spokesman added that the faculty has been providing care and support to the student and will continue to do so.

 

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Jail for drunk motorcyclist who tried to bribe police with $55 after dozing off on the road​

Krishna Rao Narisama Naidoo was jailed for four weeks, fined $5,000 and disqualified from driving for 30 months. PHOTO: CORRUPT PRACTICES INVESTIGATION BUREAU
Osmond Chia

May 11, 2022

SINGAPORE - High on alcohol, a motorcyclist dozed off while riding and fell, prompting a passer-by to alert the traffic police.
After the officers found that he was intoxicated, he tried to bribe them with $55 to let him off, leading to his arrest.
On Wednesday (May 11), Malaysian Krishna Rao Narisama Naidoo, 35, pleaded guilty to three charges for offences that include bribery and drink driving and was jailed for four weeks, fined $5,000 and disqualified from driving for 30 months.
An additional charge was taken into consideration during sentencing and he will serve an additional five weeks' jail as he is unable to pay the fine.
The court heard that on Nov 21 last year, he drank three cans of beer at home and headed to his workplace at Pioneer Place. There, he drank another two cans before he left for home on his motorcycle at 10pm.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair said Krishna was riding along the Pioneer Road roundabout off the Ayer Rajah Expressway when he dozed off and fell as he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to skid.
A passer-by contacted the police, who turned up at the scene and noticed that Krishna reeked of alcohol.

After he admitted to the officers that he had consumed alcohol, he slipped a $5 note to one of the officers and said in Malay: "Please help. Please don't summon me too much."
The officers continued to interview him and conducted a breathalyser test, which Krishna failed.
As they searched him, Krishna reached into his bag for $50 and offered it to the same officer, saying: "You take this, we close the case, I go back home and sleep."
The DPP, who sought a sentence of four to six weeks' jail, a $5,000 fine and 30 to 36 months' disqualification from driving, said the officers did not accept the bribes and that Krishna was arrested on the spot.
In his mitigation plea, he pleaded with the judge for leniency and said that he was needed at home to look after his pregnant wife, who often suffered from headaches.
In his sentencing, District Judge Eugene Teo noted that Krishna was a first-time offender and also considered his personal situation.

The judge said: "It must be very difficult for you, but I must emphasise the seriousness of the corruption charge."
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said in a statement about the case on Wednesday that the maximum penalty for a corruption offence is up to five years' jail or a fine of up to $100,000, or both.

 

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Australian private jet pilot deported for hurting and abusing cops while drunk​

Mr Cameron Lachlan Milne's employment pass was cancelled and he has been barred from re-entering Singapore. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Adeline Tan

May 12, 2022

SINGAPORE- An Australian private jet pilot who had caused a nuisance and abused police officers while he was drunk has been deported from Singapore, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Wednesday (May 11).
The incident happened after Mr Cameron Lachlan Milne, 41, had alcoholic drinks at a hotel in the Marina Bay area on the evening of June 14, 2018.
While drinking earlier with friends in the Boat Quay area, he had consumed two pints of beer, and later shared two bottles of vodka with friends at a bar in Pan Pacific Singapore.
He left the bar in the wee hours of June 15 to buy water at a nearby mall, while workers were carrying out cable installation works in the vicinity.
Mr Milne climbed into the lorry used for the installation works and threw the equipment around. The supervisor called the police after he refused to get down from the lorry.
When Mr Milne attempted to run away, he fell and pulled a national serviceman, who had been escorting the workers, along with him, tearing the NSman's shirt in the process.
After the police arrived, Mr Milne was arrested for causing annoyance while drunk, said MHA.


While in the police car, he repeatedly kicked the driver's and front passenger's seats where two police officers were seated.
An officer in the backseat tried to restrain Mr Milne but was kicked on the left side of the head behind his ear and suffered injuries. Mr Milne also tried to bite the officer's hand twice and hurled various abusive words at the three officers in the car.
On March 18, he was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail and fined $5,000 for offences such as causing hurt and using abusive words to a public servant, as well as causing annoyance to others while drunk.
Five other similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
MHA said Mr Milne's employment pass was cancelled after his conviction, and he was deported on Wednesday after serving his sentence. He has been barred from re-entering Singapore.
"MHA has zero tolerance of acts of violence against public servants who are carrying out their duties and will not hesitate to take strong action against those who do so," the ministry added.

 

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Director at listed company Geo Energy Resources jailed for second drink-driving conviction​

Charles Antonny Melati was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for eight years from his date of release. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

May 13, 2022

SINGAPORE - A director at mainboard-listed Indonesian coal producer Geo Energy Resources was on Friday (May 13) sentenced to eight weeks' jail and given a fine of $15,000 over his second drink-driving conviction in Singapore.
Indonesian Charles Antonny Melati, 51, was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for eight years from his date of release.
On Friday, the Singapore permanent resident pleaded guilty in a district court to a drink-driving charge.
He was convicted of a similar offence in 2006. Details about his earlier sentence were not disclosed in court documents.
A search of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's database shows that he is also a director at three other firms: Fortune Coal Resources, Glory Bros Trading and STT Coal Resources.
At around 6pm on May 15 last year, Melati and his friends were at a bar on Sentosa island where he drank about six glasses of whisky.
He stopped drinking at around 9pm and drove home. Court documents do not disclose the location of his residence.

Melati was driving the vehicle along Bukit Manis Road on Sentosa when he failed to keep a proper lookout and it mounted a kerb. No one was injured in the incident.
A traffic police officer arrived at the scene and noticed that Melati reeked of alcohol.
After failing a breathalyser test, he was escorted to the Traffic Police Headquarters in Ubi Avenue 3.
He was later found to have 92 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol in every 100ml of breath.
This was more than double the prescribed limit of 35mcg of alcohol in the same amount of breath.
A first-time offender convicted of drink driving can be fined up to $10,000 or jailed for up to a year or both.
A repeat offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $20,000.

 

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Briton fined $6,500 for working in Singapore without valid work pass​

Stuart Calum Arthur Alistair pleaded guilty to one count of working for a news agency while he was a long-term visit pass holder. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

May 17, 2022


SINGAPORE - A 36-year-old Briton was fined $6,500 on Tuesday (May 17) after he was found guilty of working here as a freelance producer between November 2015 and July 2016 without a valid work pass.
Stuart Calum Arthur Alistair had pleaded guilty to one count of working for news agency Thomson Reuters, now known as Refinitiv Asia, while he was a long-term visit pass holder.
A long-term visit pass holder can work here only if he has a work pass or a letter of consent issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Refinitiv Asia was fined $5,500 for employing Stuart despite knowing that he did not have a valid work pass.
A second charge which involves him working as a freelance writer for Yahoo! Singapore's news website between June and August 2015 without a valid work pass was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Muhammad Firdianshah Salimat, 30, who introduced Stuart to Yahoo!, was fined $4,000 for his role in abetting the foreigner.
The court heard that Stuart married Singaporean activist Kirsten Han in 2014 and was issued a short-term pass followed by a long-term pass between November 2015 and March 2019.
In August 2015, Refinitiv offered Stuart a job as assistant producer for a year - which involved him helping with video production - with a salary of $4,500 a month.
He agreed to the offer but did not sign the contract.
Refinitiv applied for an employment pass on his behalf in August that year but it was rejected by MOM a month later.

The company then applied for a letter of consent which would allow him to work for the news agency, but this was also rejected in December 2015.
While waiting for the letter of consent application to be approved, Refinitiv offered him freelance television and video production work for the same salary of $4,500 a month.
He took up the offer and worked for Refinitiv for more than six months from Nov 25, 2015, to July 8, 2016, and was paid a total of $30,375 for his services.
The accused also worked as a freelance writer for Yahoo! Singapore, where he was paid $100 for each article published.
To get this job, he liaised with Firdianshah who helps online publications connect with freelance writers.

During the negotiation, Stuart told Firdianshah about not having a valid work pass, but the latter still chose to offer him the job.
Stuart on June 27, 2015, signed the employment agreement, which stated that he had to provide three to five pieces of original writing every weekday to Firdianshah, who would vet the pieces before submitting them to Yahoo!.
Stuart earned $700 from writing seven articles between June and August 2015 while Firdianshah received $350.
For each count of working in Singapore without a work pass, Stuart could have been fined up to $20,000 and jailed for up to two years.

 

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Jail for man who crawled through drain into former Kallang Airport construction site seeking job​

TODAY file photo

BY DARYL CHOO
Published May 19, 2022

SINGAPORE — When Dang Huu Giang came across a fenced-off construction site at the former Kallang Airport building, he crawled through an open drain to enter the site seeking work even though his work permit had expired.
The 28-year-old Vietnamese man then urinated in a room and harassed the project manager overseeing renovation work on the site.
On Thursday (May 19), Dang was sentenced to two weeks and three days' jail and fined S$1,000 after pleading guilty to one count of housebreaking and one of using threatening words causing alarm.
He also pleaded guilty to one charge of stealing a can of Red Bull energy drink at a 7-11 convenience store.
The court heard that at about 2pm on March 25 this year, Dang crawled through the drain into the construction site at 9 Stadium Link, which is a building owned by the Singapore Land Authority.

After doing so, he could not find anyone who understood spoken Mandarin, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordon Li said.
Dang then urinated in one of the rooms to the annoyance of the project manager who decided to call the police.
The manager then noticed Dang pointing his phone camera at him.
Dang then threatened him, saying in Mandarin: “If the police come for me... my friends and I will come back and give you problems.”
As for the theft charge, Dang was caught several weeks earlier, on March 9 this year, by the store manager of a 7-11 store at Kallang MRT Station placing a S$2.50 Red Bull can into his backpack before leaving the store. Dang bought a S$1 soft drink from the store before that.
The store manager confronted him, got him to return to the shop and found the can of Red Bull in his backpack.

The manager then called the police to tell them that he had detained Dang for shoplifting and informed them that Dang had been cooperative.
On Thursday, Dang — who did not have a lawyer representing him — told the court that he has realised his mistake.
“I have been in remand for quite some time. I plead for leniency for a short sentence so that I can be back in my home country and be reunited with my parents, my wife and children,” he said through a court interpreter.
“I’m quite worried for them because we have not been able to communicate for quite some time.”
Dang’s jail sentence was backdated to March 25 when he was arrested. It was not immediately clear if Dang has been released from custody given that he has already served a longer period behind bars than the jail term imposed by the judge.
For housebreaking, he could have been jailed for up to three years or fined, or both. For shoplifting, he could have been jailed up to seven years and been liable to a fine.

For using threatening words causing alarm, he could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$5,000, or both.

 

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S'pore start-up Zilingo fires CEO Ankiti Bose, reserves right to pursue legal action​

Ms Ankiti Bose said her employment was terminated on grounds of "insubordination", while Zilingo said the ouster followed a probe into complaints of serious financial irregularities. PHOTO: ZILINGO

Choo Yun Ting
Business Correspondent

May 20, 2022

SINGAPORE - E-commerce platform Zilingo has terminated its chief executive Ankiti Bose, also the co-founder of the firm, following an investigation into complaints of serious financial irregularities.
In a statement on Friday (May 20), the Singapore-based firm said it decided to terminate Ms Bose’s employment “with cause” and that it reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action.
The start-up, which counts Sequoia Capital India, Singapore state investor Temasek, and the Economic Development Board’s investment arm EDBI among its investors, had earlier suspended Ms Bose on March 31.
In its statement, Zilingo said that Ms Bose brought “certain harassment-related issues pertaining to past time periods” to the attention of the firm’s board on April 11.
These issues did not include any harassment complaints against investors or their nominees, it added, noting that a top consulting firm had been engaged to look into the claims brought forth.
“The investigation has concluded that the company took appropriate action and followed due process to address these complaints that were brought to their notice, contrary to media reports that have suggested that the suspension and investigation into Ankiti Bose were aimed at suppressing the said harassment claims,” Zilingo said.
Bloomberg News reported that Ms Bose said in a separate statement that her employment was terminated on grounds of insubordination, after being suspended on the basis of an “anonymous whistle-blower complaint”.

In its statement, Zilingo said: “The company is deeply pained and disappointed to see the manner in which the board, investors and employees have been constantly attacked through ostensibly leaked and fake information, along with what unfortunately appears to be paid and defamatory social media campaigns throughout the investigation period.”
This has cause irreparable damage to the start-up, board, staff and backers, it added.
The company noted that following the recall of loans by debt holders, an independent financial adviser was appointed and is in the midst of assessing options for the business.

More information will be provided in due course, it said.
Ms Bose had earlier been suspended from her duties while the start-up’s accounting practices were investigated. Regulatory checks show that Zilingo’s last financial statement was filed in 2019.
Ms Bose, who co-founded the company with Mr Dhruv Kapoor in 2015, has disputed claims of wrongdoing.
Commenting on corporate governance issues that start-ups face, NUS Business School’s Professor Mak Yuen Teen noted that such issues are not uncommon. Start-ups here and elsewhere have faced the likes of toxic culture, product fraud, financial irregularities and conflict of interest, he noted.
“Founders are by their nature entrepreneurial and risk takers, and may push the boundaries. They are also often charismatic and able to convince people to buy into their vision,” he said.
Prof Mak added that with problems emerging in start-ups, investors may be more careful about due diligence before investing and may demand better corporate governance, and start-ups that are not prepared for these may find it harder to attract investors.
Start-ups need to ensure that they have at least the basic corporate governance in place, he said.
This includes measures such as having accounts audited by a respectable audit firm on a timely basis, having proper internal controls for key business operations, having an internal audit of the key risk areas, and having a properly constituted board with some independent members.
Singapore Institute of Directors vice-chairman Adrian Chan said that while he does not believe confidence in the boards or founders of start-ups has necessarily been shaken by Zilingo’s situation, there are lessons to be learnt from this case and the issues that have surfaced.
Mr Chan, who also serves on the Enterprise Board of the SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, noted that start-up boards and founders should be trained and equipped with the necessary governance skills and knowledge to run their businesses effectively.
“Paying heed to corporate governance makes good business sense and should not be viewed as a burden. And if boards fail to recognise this early on, they may find themselves paying a higher price later on,” he said.

 

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Boss jailed after maid loses five fingers to bakery mincer​

Mastura Abdul Khalil (left) was sentenced to four weeks' jail and fined $10,400, while her husband Affendi B. Husain (right) was fined $8,700. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
Samuel Devaraj

May 20, 2022

SINGAPORE - The woman asked a domestic helper - hired by her husband to do household chores - to help out at her bakery.
The maid allegedly suffered a finger injury while using an electric mincer but that did not stop bakery owner Mastura Abdul Khalil - two years later - to get another maid, Ms Rabiah Baharuddin Abdul, to work in the bakery.
While using the same mincer, Ms Rabiah suffered a more serious injury. All the fingers on the Indonesian's right hand had to be amputated.
On Friday (May 20), Mastura, a 46-year-old Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced to four weeks' jail and fined $10,400 in court.
Her husband Affendi B. Husain, 61, who employed Ms Rabiah, was fined $8,700.
The couple each pleaded guilty to a charge under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act over the illegal employment of Ms Rabiah.
Affendi also pleaded guilty to a charge under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations while Mastura pleaded guilty to two charges under the same regulations and another charge for failing to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of Ms Rabiah at work.

Charges related to the domestic worker who got less severely injured in the accident which occurred on or before October 2017 were taken into consideration during sentencing. The incident was uncovered during investigations into Ms Rabiah's accident.
Singapore Food Agency prosecuting officer Ng Zhao Ji said in court documents that Mastura was the sole proprietor of Mastura Bakery in 92 Joo Chiat Road.
The business which sold snacks like curry puffs, banana fritters and fried green bean pastry opened in the middle of 2016, and the couple were both actively involved in running it.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecuting officers Mohd Rizal and Khong Zi Wei said in court documents that Ms Rabiah started working for Affendi on Oct 27, 2018.
Mastura told her in November that year to help with food preparation in the bakery.
From November 2018 till the date of the accident, in addition to her duties like cleaning, cooking and doing laundry, Ms Rabiah was required to go to the bakery about three to four times a week.
She performed tasks like cutting onions, grinding sardines using an electric mincer and frying fillings for curry puffs from about 11am to 7pm, while not getting any additional money.

On June 6, 2019, Ms Rabiah reached the bakery at around noon. Her tasks for the day included opening about 144 sardine cans and processing the fish with the electric mincer.
She loaded the sardines into the machine with her right hand which was encased in a latex glove. She used a plunger with the other hand to push the sardines further into the mincer.
"After some time, the latex glove on her right hand became loose and was caught in the mincing component. Rabiah was unable to pull out her right hand, which resulted in her right hand being mangled by the electric mincer," said the MOM prosecutors.
Ms Rabiah felt a sudden pain, immediately turned off the power and shouted for help. Mastura's children, who were at the bakery, telephoned their mother.
Mastura and Affendi, who were attending a funeral, arrived about half an hour later and called for an ambulance.
During surgery at the hospital, five fingers on Ms Rabiah's right hand were amputated.
Investigations revealed that she was taught, only once, by an employee of the bakery how to use the electric mincer, and that involved sweet potatoes.
Such electric mincers would generally come with a plastic hoop, said the MOM prosecutors, which serves as a guard to prevent the user's hands from reaching into the mincing component. There was no hoop on the mincer at the bakery.
Mastura also failed to conduct a risk assessment and develop safe procedures for using the mincer.
In delivering her verdict in court on Friday, District Judge Janet Wang said the culpability on Mastura’s part was amplified as the incident involving Ms Rabiah was not her first offence, and that she had shown blatant disregard by not taking steps to report the first incident or replace the guard.
There was also an exploitative element as the motivation to get Ms Rabiah to work in the bakery was to save on labour costs.
"The degree of permanent impairment is considerable," added the judge.

Another incident of a maid who lost her fingers​

A 59-year-old stall operator was sentenced to two weeks' jail and fined $19,000 on Oct 8, 2021, after his daughter's domestic helper lost four fingers while she was using an electric meat grinder.
The Myanmar national never worked for the man's daughter but was instead asked to double as a kitchen assistant at the offender's food stall business and would work at the man's home for his business .
On Jan 31, 2019, the domestic worker was in the kitchen where she used a butter knife to push a food mixture into the opening of the grinder.
When the knife slipped, she tried to retrieve it by placing her right hand through the opening without turning the machine off.
Its blades severed four of her fingers and she was rushed to Singapore General Hospital.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Man who filmed female tenants using bathroom in flat jailed 12 weeks​

Jean Iau

May 25, 2022

SINGAPORE - A man who installed a pinhole camera in a bathroom to record female tenants he shared a flat with has been sentenced to 12 weeks' jail.
On Wednesday (May 25), Shazrul Hafeez Sabri Chong, 28, was convicted in a district court of one count of insulting the modesty of a woman and another of voyeurism.
Four other similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The victims and the location of the flat cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect their identities.
The court heard that the Malaysian sub-let rooms in the flat to the women.
He planted the pinhole camera in the bathroom in 2019.
On Sept 12, 2020 when one of the women was showering, she noticed the camera on the floor. She later viewed the contents of the storage card in the camera and saw footage of Shazrul Hafeez adjusting the camera.

She filed a police report.
During investigations, Shazrul Hafeez admitted that he bought the camera on Lazada and placed it on the window of the bathroom.
He said the camera would record footage for three hours before the battery went flat.
Recordings of a different woman in various states of undress in 2019 were later found on his electronic devices.
She was also a tenant, and he said he kept the recordings for his personal pleasure.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lydia Goh noted that Shazrul Hafeez abused the women's trust as they shared the household.
"This offending would have continued if not for (the first victim) discovering the pinhole camera," she added.

Shazrul Hafeez's lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya told the court his client has since attended counselling to prevent himself from committing a similar crime.
For voyeurism, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or sentenced to any combination of these punishments.
For insulting the modesty of a woman, an offender could be jailed for up to a year, fined or punished with both.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Woman jailed for punching, kicking domestic helper, trying to delete CCTV footage of incident​

Jean Iau

May 25, 2022

SINGAPORE - Enraged when her domestic helper said she wanted to quit, the woman rained blows on the victim's head and body while the latter sobbed on the floor.
After the assault, knowing that the Myanmar national would make a police report, Chinese national Bai Yihong, 34, told her to think about her children and said that if things blew up, she would not be allowed work in Singapore.
The victim's name was redacted in court documents.
Bai, who was unemployed at the time and later diagnosed with a major depressive episode and schizophrenia, was jailed for eight months and six weeks on Wednesday (May 25) for the assault and for subsequently trying to get her in-laws to delete CCTV footage of the incident.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Claire Poh told the court that this was not Bai's first assault on the 31-year-old, who worked for the family in their Hougang flat for about a year from November 2019.
On one occasion, Bai shoved her into a storeroom causing her to hit her head against the wall, after she was unhappy with the way the helper did the laundry.
The abuse culminated on the morning of Nov 6, 2020, after the maid stayed the night at Bai's in-law's flat in the same block as she had felt sick, and Bai was afraid she would infect her infant son.

Bai's husband, Mr Chua Bee Seng, her mother, Hai Yulan, then 57, Mr Chua's parents, Bai's infant son and the helper were in the in-law's living room when Bai went up to the flat at about 9.20am to get the helper, who did not want to leave the flat.
She told Bai she wanted to quit.
When the maid started crying, Bai shouted at and threatened her, saying she would accuse her of theft.

She then tried to drag the maid out of the flat by her arm while she was seated.
While Hai told Bai to leave initially, she later joined Bai in pulling the victim's arm to drag her out of the flat. The maid resisted and Bai assaulted her again, including kicking and punching her head repeatedly.
Bai threatened to beat the helper to death and continued her assault on the sobbing woman despite Hai trying to push her away and Mr Chua's mother trying to restrain her.

Mr Chua then raised his voice and told her to stop.
After the assault, the victim's lips were bleeding. Bai thought of a cover-up story to explain to the agent. She also told Mr Chua to call his sisters to delete the CCTV footage of the incident.
The agent arrived at about 11am that day and took the victim to a hospital, where she was found to have a muscle strain on her back, facial contusion, lip laceration, and bruises on her left arm.
The helper made a police report later that day.
Hai was fined $3,000 in December last year for her involvement.
The DPP said the victim is now fearful of loud noises and has a scar over her lower lip. She was out of work for a month and had to pay two months' salary as agent's fees to get another employer. It was not mentioned in court if she is still working here.
Bai paid $5,580 in restitution.

Her lawyers, Mr Kevin Liew and Ms Gloria James, told the court that an Institute of Mental Health report found that she was having a major depressive episode which had a contributory link to her offences. However, Mr Liew noted that the episode did not affect her judgment severely.
They also told the court that Mr Chua has since died and Bai has to care for their two-year-old child.
For voluntarily causing hurt to her domestic helper, Bai could have been jailed six years, fined $10,000, or both.