Foreign talent's contributions to Singapore

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Director of sport equipment importer fined $64,000 for evading GST​

Wong Shiying

SEP 17, 2021

SINGAPORE - The director of a sport equipment importer in Singapore who evaded more than $13,400 in goods and services tax (GST) was fined $64,000 on Wednesday (Sept 15).
Marco Dittrich, the director of Singapore Tri-Global, pleaded guilty to one charge of evading GST. A similar charge was taken into consideration for sentencing.
The Singapore permanent resident was found to have under-declared the value of 33 shipments of bicycle parts imported by Singapore Tri-Global and evaded over $9,000 in GST between June and December last year.
Between January and April this year, Dittrich wrongly declared the value of 13 other shipments of bicycle components and evaded over $4,400 in GST.
The goods involved are believed to have been imported from China.
His offences came to light on Feb 9 this year after Customs officers inspected a consignment of bicycle wheels and found that the value declared was more than 14 times lower than its actual value of $23,360.

The officers realised the numbers did not tally after checking supporting documents provided by the freight forwarder of the consignment.
Under the Customs Act, any person involved in evading or attempts to evade GST may be fined up to 20 times the amount evaded.

 

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Driver in fatal Lucky Plaza crash sentenced to 2 years and 6 months' jail​

Chong Kim Hoe (right, as seen on Sept 20, 2020) was driving a car near Lucky Plaza in 2019 when it ploughed into six Filipino women, killing two of them.
PHOTOS: PHV RIDERS AND DRIVERS SINGAPORE/FACEBOOK, ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Sep 24, 2021



SINGAPORE - A man involved in the 2019 Lucky Plaza crash that killed two women pleaded guilty to his offences on Friday (Sept 24) and was sentenced to two years and six months' jail.
He has also been disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for 10 years.
Chong Kim Hoe, now 66, was driving a car near the Orchard Road shopping mall when it ploughed into six Filipino women, killing two of them.
The other four were injured, three of them grievously.
In September last year, the Malaysian man was charged with three counts of dangerous driving.
Chong, who is also a Singapore permanent resident, had engaged the accelerator as he was making a U-turn on Nutmeg Road near the mall at around 5pm on Dec 29, 2019.

His car later hit the six women.
Ms Abigail Danao Leste, 41, and Ms Arlyn Picar Nucos, 50, died as a result of the accident.
Ms Egnal Layugan Limbauan and Ms Laila Flores Laudencia, both 44, and Ms Arceli Picar Nucos, 56, suffered grievous hurt.
Ms Demet Limbauan Limbauan, 37, was also injured.

Ms Arlyn Picar Nucos was Ms Arceli Picar Nucos' sister. All six women worked as domestic helpers here.

Ms Arceli Picar Nucos (left) was injured while Ms Abigail Danao Leste (middle) and Ms Arlyn Picar Nucos (right) died in the accident. PHOTO: ARCELY NUCOS/FACEBOOK

The manager of a Lucky Plaza travel agency, Mr Daniel Mendoza, then 34, witnessed the aftermath.
He told The Straits Times in December 2019 that he was on a pavement near the shopping mall when the accident occurred.
He added: "Everyone was, of course, shocked and many were screaming 'help, God, help, God'."

The car crashed through a railing and landed on the carpark exit lane a few metres below. PHOTO: PHV RIDERS AND DRIVERS SINGAPORE/FACEBOOK

Following the crash, more than $360,000 was raised for the victims in an online fund-raiser that closed on Jan 6 last year.
According to figures on fund-raising website Giving.sg, the Centre for Domestic Employees and the Domestic Employees Welfare Fund took about a week to raise the sum from nearly 3,000 donors.
The money is meant to help the four injured women and the dependants of the two dead women.

 

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Beautician who performed illegal Botox and filler injections jailed 10 weeks, fined $16,000​

Duong Bang Anh pleaded guilty to two charges each under the Health Products Act and Medical Registration Act.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

Sep 24, 2021


SINGAPORE - A 32-year-old woman who performed illegal Botox and filler procedures at her beauty salon was jailed 10 weeks and fined $16,000 on Thursday (Sept 23).
Duong Bang Anh, a Singapore permanent resident from Vietnam, was not authorised to perform such procedures as she is not a licensed medical practitioner.
A friend had helped her illegally import the treatment products from Vietnam to her home in Jurong West last year.
She pleaded guilty on Thursday to two charges each under the Health Products Act and Medical Registration Act. Another eight similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
The court heard that Duong performed filler and Botox injections on two Singaporean women between 2018 and 2019.
One of the victims contacted Duong after seeing her Instagram account, where she advertised the procedures. She made an appointment to have filler injections on her cheeks and chin for $800.

When she went for her appointment at K Beauty salon in Jurong Gateway Road in May 2019, she was told to go to an area that was partitioned off.
While she was on the treatment bed, Duong applied numbing cream on the woman's face and assured her that the products were "from doctors" and "safe to use".
She also told the victim that she provided training to customers who wanted to learn how to perform Botox and filler injections for a fee of $3,000.
The victim experienced pain during the treatment but completed it. She subsequently felt swelling on her cheeks and reported the incident to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

The second victim, aged 25, heard about the Botox and filler services from a friend and contacted Duong to ask about treatments to "attain a V-shape face and dimples".
Duong lied that she was medically trained in Vietnam and had a valid licence to perform Botox treatments in Singapore.
The victim received a few filler and Botox injection treatments from Duong between November 2018 and August 2019. Court documents did not state how much she spent on the treatments.
The victim complained that she felt pain and numbness in her cheeks in early 2019 after a procedure, but Duong assured her that nothing was wrong and that all the products used were good and expensive.

Duong's offences came to light when officers from the Ministry of Health and HSA raided her salon in July last year and seized eight boxes of Neuronox Purified Botulinum Toxin Type A Complex and 20 boxes of Celosome Implant with Lidocaine (syringe).
Duong was in the process of injecting Botox into the arm of a 22-year-old customer at the time.
According to HSA, Neuronox Purified Botulinum Toxin Type A Complex is an unregistered therapeutic product used for treating foot deformity and serious wrinkles.
The Celosome Implant with Lidocaine (syringe) is classified as a medical device.
For performing medical procedures without a licence, Duong could have been jailed for up to a year and fined up to $100,000.
The maximum penalty for importing a health product without a licence is a two-year jail term and $50,000 fine.

 

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Man jailed 1.5 years for cheating HPB of S$29,000 through 1,200 bogus Healthhub accounts

By LOUISA TANG
Published SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

• Ong Lee Boon created 1,213 fake accounts on the Health Promotion Board’s HealthHub portal
• He earned points through this and redeemed about S$29,000 in TransitLink credits and a few electronic vouchers
• He used some of these credits to get S$19,000 worth of NTUC FairPrice vouchers, which he resold for cash
• His lawyer said his family was under financial pressure at the time

SINGAPORE — Over several months, a man exploited a loyalty programme run by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to illegally redeem about S$29,000 worth of TransitLink credits, some of which he used to get NTUC FairPrice vouchers to resell.

Ong Lee Boon, 28, was sentenced to one-and-a-half years’ jail on Tuesday (Sept 28) for his actions.

The Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating by personation, with another two similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

He will begin serving his sentence on Oct 12 and remains out on bail of S$10,000.

The court heard that Ong first created an account on HealthHub, an online portal run by HPB, in early 2018 using his Foreign Identification Number (FIN) and mobile number.

At the time, the Government statutory board maintained a loyalty programme where users could earn HealthPoints by completing qualifying activities such as quizzes on the HealthHub platforms.

They could then use the points to redeem rewards, such as credits on TransitLink cards as well as electronic vouchers. The TransitLink credits could also be used to redeem NTUC FairPrice vouchers.

To earn points, users needed to provide their FIN or National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) numbers, as well as an email address and mobile phone number.

After creating a HealthHub account, Ong earned points and credited them to his personal EZ-link card for his travel expenses.

Around September 2018, after getting his permanent residency status, Ong successfully created another account using his NRIC number.

He then decided to create more accounts with other people’s identification numbers.

While experimenting, he discovered he was able to do this even if the name he provided did not match the identification number provided.

He then created 1,213 HealthHub accounts between Sept 26, 2018 and April 14, 2019 by using false details, ultimately cheating S$28,576 in TransitLink credits from HPB.

He used an online NRIC generator to generate random identification numbers, and used names from his company’s customer database or names he came up with.

He initially used email accounts he thought up himself before switching to an online email account address generator.

As for phone numbers, he bought almost 500 pre-registered SIM cards and used some of them to register accounts in order to hide his identity.

He kept a spreadsheet with the details of each fake account in order to track them.

BOUGHT S$19,000 IN NTUC FAIRPRICE VOUCHERS

Using at least some of the fake accounts, Ong earned points by answering quizzes on the HealthHub mobile application.

He also used another app to record and replay a series of operations on a mobile phone, automating and speeding up the answering of quizzes.

He then scaled up his operations by buying more mobile phones and using them to earn points.

He used the points to get four NTUC FairPrice e-vouchers and one HPB e-voucher, worth a total of S$25.

He also used the points to get TransitLink credits, knowing he could use these credits in turn to get physical NTUC FairPrice vouchers to sell for cash.

To do this, he bought 12 more Nets FlashPay cards online because users needed to key in the serial numbers of such supported cards to redeem the points.

He then redeemed S$$19,000 in physical NTUC FairPrice vouchers using some of the TransitLink credits, hiding his identity by wearing a mask or cap when he purchased the vouchers at FairPrice outlets.

He sold them for S$17,230 to three buyers. He claimed to the authorities that he gave the money to his sister in Malaysia to pay for renovation-related expenses.

The chief of HealthHub, Mr Ho Juan San, lodged a police report on March 18, 2019 about suspicious activity on the platform.

Ong was arrested on April 17 this year, and he has since made full restitution to HPB. Court documents did not state why it took almost two years for him to be nabbed.

In mitigation, his lawyer Ong Ying Ping, who sought five months’ imprisonment, said that his client was genuinely remorseful and committed the offences when his family was facing financial pressure.

In sentencing Ong, District Judge Tan Jen Tse said there was “substantial planning and premeditation involved” but acknowledged that he had made full restitution.

Offenders convicted of cheating by personation can be jailed for up to five years or fined, or both.

 

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3 weeks' jail for man who forged Covid-19 vaccination certificate to dine in restaurant​

David Sun

Sep 28, 2021

SINGAPORE - Using an application on his smartphone, a man edited a copy of his colleague's Covid-19 vaccination certificate, replacing the name with his own.
Zhang Shaopeng, 30, a Chinese national, later used the forged document to dine with his friends at Tanuki Raw bar and restaurant at Orchard Central.
But the staff spotted that the document shown was forged and chased the group out before making a police report.
On Wednesday (Sept 29), Zhang was jailed for three weeks after he pleaded guilty to forgery.
He is the first person here to be convicted of forging a Covid-19 vaccination certificate to dine-in.
Zhang intended to attend an exhibition in the United States, along with his colleagues Mr Cheng Lin, 32, and Ms Chen Shuwei, 25.

Both his colleagues are also Chinese nationals.
As entry into the US was restricted for foreign nationals who have been in China 14 days prior to entry, the trio decided to travel to Singapore and stay for over 14 days before going to the US.
Mr Cheng and Ms Chen arrived in Singapore on Aug 19 and 22 respectively.
Zhang only arrived on Aug 27.

All three tested negative for the virus and were quarantined.
On Aug 25, prior to Zhang's arrival, his two colleagues went to Raffles Medical Group to validate their Covid-19 vaccination status.
They were given a doctor's memo certifying it.
They later told Zhang that he too could get his vaccination status certified by visiting a doctor and doing a blood test.
Instead, Zhang asked Mr Cheng to send him a photo of the memo.
Zhang then edited the photo using an application on his phone, replacing Mr Cheng's name with his own.
On Sept 1, Zhang checked out of his hotel because it was too expensive for him and his colleagues helped him move his luggage.
He then offered to buy them a meal and the trio went to Orchard Central.
They managed to enter Tanuki Raw at about 1pm, with Zhang showing the staff his forged certificate.
But after the staff sent photos of the trio's documents to the management, they soon realised that the IC numbers on Zhang and Mr Cheng's certificate were identical and confronted thegroup.
The trio were chased out at about 1.45pm and a police report was made.
Zhang was arrested on Sept 14.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong urged the court to jail Zhang for three to four weeks, saying the court needed to send a clear signal that such conduct will be met with certain and serious punishment.
Zhang's lawyer, Mr Cory Wong from Invictus Law, asked the court for a high fine or a jail term of not more than two weeks.
He said Zhang was fully vaccinated, having received the Sinovac jab, and made a foolish mistake.
For forgery, Zhang could have been jailed for up to four years and fined.
His sentence was backdated to Sept 14.

 

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Mitch Vanhille, a Belgian national based in Singapore, was convicted of seven counts of voluntarily causing hurt, two counts of wrongful confinement, and one of using criminal force on the victim.

Jail, fine for man who abused then girlfriend by hitting her, spitting in her face​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Oct 5, 2021

SINGAPORE - Twice, she was locked out of her home. At other times, her then boyfriend hit her and spat in her face.
The woman finally left the relationship after months of abuse in 2018 upon realising that "the emotional and physical exhaustion was no longer sustainable".
On Tuesday (Oct 5), her abuser was sentenced to seven weeks' jail and a fine of $5,400.
After a trial, District Judge Sarah Tan earlier found the 41-year-old European man guilty of seven counts of assault and two of wrongful confinement.
She also convicted him of one count of using criminal force on the woman.
He was, however, acquitted of one count each of assault and molestation.

He cannot be identified owing to a gag order to protect his former girlfriend's identity. He committed the offences between May and August 2018.
In their submissions, deputy public prosecutors Chin Jincheng and Melina Chew said: "As the great singer Adele once said, sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead. This case is a tragic instance of the latter."
The court heard that the couple first met in 2017 and became an item later that year.
She moved in with the man in February 2018.

The prosecutors said: "Unfortunately, the romantic relationship between the accused and the victim was unstable and fraught with physical and emotional abuse. Notwithstanding this, the victim continued to stay in the relationship as she genuinely loved the accused, felt that he was someone she would spend the rest of her life with, and wanted to make the relationship work.
"The victim was also emotionally reliant on the accused throughout the course of the relationship as she was unemployed and was at what she described as the weakest point in her life."
The abuse started on May 16, 2018 after the couple got into a tiff over issues linked to a swingers' party.

The woman went to the balcony of their home to smoke before realising that he had secured a sliding door, locking her out.
The DPPs said: "The victim and the accused texted each other, during which the accused told her that he would only let her back into the house if she agreed to leave. The victim also informed the accused that she needed to go to the toilet urgently."
She re-entered their home only about an hour later, the court heard.
The couple later got into another argument. She tried to speak to the man about the matter on June 20, 2018, but he refused to engage her.
Instead, he became agitated and started calling her names.
He picked up a remote control and flung it at her face, hitting her lip.
The woman was later resting on a bed when he told her to leave the room.
When she refused, he grabbed hold of her legs and yanked her off the bed. This caused the victim to fall, scrape her left elbow and hit the back of her head.
The couple got into yet another tiff on July 24, 2018, and the man, who became "very agitated", started yelling at her.
He told her that he wanted them to break up before he spat in her face.
Soon after, he grabbed her ankles and dragged her to a dining table. She fell backwards and the back of her head struck the floor.
Later that evening, he grabbed her hair and pulled her to the main door of their home. He opened the door and told her to get out.
She was in a bedroom the next day when he took her laptop and used it to repeatedly hit her thighs.
The woman left their home to stay with a friend following this incident but returned soon after.
The pair were in a bedroom on July 27 that year when the man repeatedly hit her legs with his elbow and forearm.

The woman made her first police report four days later but continued her relationship with the man.
On Aug 17 that year, the man picked up his jeans, which had a belt attached, and used the garment to hit her face.
She felt the sharp edges of the belt clasp scratching her face.
The prosecutors said the woman went to a service yard near their home 13 days later to smoke when the man locked her out. The door was unlocked only about 15 minutes later.
The court heard that she filed her second police report on Nov 23, 2018.
The prosecutors said: "The victim finally accepted that the relationship had ended... She decided to file the second police report against the accused... stating that she wanted to press charges against (him)."
In his defence, the man said the woman had "constantly harassed, badgered and manipulated him into being with her".
He eventually "gave in to her" to have his "peace and rest".
The court heard that he had been found to have major depressive disorder from May to December 2018.
His bail was set at $20,000 on Tuesday and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Oct 7 to begin serving his sentence.
For each count of assault, an offender can be jailed up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

 

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Woman who sold fake Burberry, Chanel bags on Facebook Live gets jail​

File photo of women's bags. (Photo: iStock)

Lydia Lam​

@LydiaLamCNA
05 Oct 2021

SINGAPORE: A woman who imported cheap counterfeits of branded bags and apparel from her home country and sold them for a mark-up on Facebook Live was sentenced to four months' jail on Tuesday (Oct 5).
Vietnamese national Le Thi Thu Lang, 33, pleaded guilty to five counts under the Trade Marks Act of possessing goods with falsely applied trade marks for sale. Another 15 similar charges were considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Le started out selling counterfeit apparel on Carousell in May 2019. She switched to hawking the fake goods on Facebook Live two months later, procuring the counterfeit items from suppliers based in Vietnam.
She bought the items for S$3 to S$10 each and sold them for up to double the price. Viewers on her Facebook Live page would watch as she showcased her fake goods - including bags from brands like Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton as well as home-grown brand Charles and Keith.
Interested buyers would leave comments on her page and Le would contact them to process their orders, which they paid for via PayNow or PayLah.
On average, Le earned about S$200 per Facebook Live session.
In December 2020, authorities received information from Singapore Customs that they had detained a shipment of bags suspected to be counterfeit.
Officers raided Le's flat two days later and arrested her. About 520 pieces of fake branded goods were seized from Le's home, including 69 pieces of Louis Vuitton clothes, nine pairs of Versace footwear, 13 Balenciaga bags and 96 pieces of Gucci clothes.

BRAND TRADE MARK ADMINISTRATORS INSPECT FAKE GOODS​

Some of the seized goods were inspected by trade mark administrators for the respective brands. Gucci's administrator found that the items had "non-standard" and "inferior" materials or craftsmanship, while Adidas' administrator found that the fake goods were "the lowest grade counterfeits".
The administrators for Chanel and Louis Vuitton similarly found the counterfeit goods to be of poor quality and did not meet their brands' standards.
The prosecutor sought four to six months' jail for Le, citing the need for deterrence as strong intellectual property protection is "an integral part of Singapore's economic and industrial success".
Speaking through an interpreter, Le said she was "very sorry" and that she had "poor knowledge of Singapore law".

ASKED IF SHE COULD PAY A FINE INSTEAD​

When she heard that she was sentenced to jail, she asked the judge if she could pay a fine instead, saying she had a family to take care of, especially her 80-year-old mother-in-law.
Le's husband, who was in court, also sought mercy from the judge.
"Yes, I admit my wife has been ignorant," he said. "I also admit it's my fault, because I don't really take care of the family."
He added that his wife was helping him care for his mother, who had a heart bypass, and that his father had just passed away and his family is "a mess".
He pleaded for leniency again regarding the jail term, but the judge told him she had already decided on the sentence. She allowed Le to defer her jail term to Oct 19 to settle her family and work matters.
For each charge of possessing a fake branded item for sale, Le could have been jailed up to five years, fined up to S$100,000, or both.

 

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9 months' jail for man who assaulted relative, caused severe injuries to right eye​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Oct 6, 2021

SINGAPORE - In a fit of rage, a man used an umbrella to repeatedly strike a distant relative of his on the head until the umbrella broke.
After that, Karuppiah Jeyakkumar, now 44, hit Mr Alangam Pillai Rajendran, 55, with a slipper twice and chased him away.
The older man was later found to have severe injuries to his right eye that required extensive surgical repair.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Thiam Jia Min said: "As such, his vision in the right eye was reduced for a significant amount of time and he needed to use his eye drops for a prolonged period of time.
"His right eye experienced significant discomfort and his activities of daily living might be affected."
Karuppiah, who is an Indian national and a Singapore permanent resident, was on Wednesday (Oct 6) sentenced to nine months' jail after he pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Mr Alangam. The attacker was also ordered to pay $315.70 in compensation.

Court documents do not disclose how exactly these two men are related to each other.
The DPP said that Mr Alangam's wife owned a provision shop in Clementi and Karuppiah had contributed cash to set it up. Despite this, he was not registered as its co-owner.
Around September 2017, the couple told Karuppiah that they wanted to sell the shop and share the proceeds of its sale with him.
Karuppiah, however, wanted them to sell the shop to him and the involved parties could not reach a firm agreement on the matter.

Mr Alangam later met a potential buyer outside the shop at around 8.45pm on Oct 2, 2017.
Karuppiah turned up minutes later as he had been expected to hand Mr Alangam an account book and a set of keys to the shop.
The court heard that he became agitated when he saw Mr Alangam and the potential buyer.

Karuppiah then assaulted his relative with the umbrella and slipper before chasing him away.
The potential buyer called the police during the commotion and Mr Alangam took a taxi to West Coast Neighbourhood Police Post.
An ambulance later took him to the National University Hospital where he was found with an injured right eye.
The DPP said: "As a result of the eye injury, the victim suffered from blurred vision and pain in his right eye such that he was unable to sleep well at night, work during the day and exercise each morning as he was accustomed to doing."
A doctor's note on Oct 4, 2017, stated that the eye injury required regular monitoring and hospital visits.
The doctor also discouraged Mr Alangam from performing tasks such as driving and operating machinery.
He was given 148 days of medical leave and was unable to work during this time. He also forked out $7,564 in medical bills.
Karuppiah's bail was set at $10,000 on Wednesday and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Nov 5 to begin serving his sentence.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.

 

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"The prosecution has applied for a stay of execution of the sentencing to consider the judge's decision."

Sinkies get fine and/or jail while FTs get probation

Covid-19: Probation for young woman who met boyfriend 10 times to exercise, watch movies during circuit breaker

By DARYL CHOO
Published OCTOBER 06, 2021

Nuria Ling/TODAY
May Moe Kyi (centre) outside the State Courts on Sept 27, 2021.

• May Moe Kyi left her home 10 times to visit her boyfriend during the circuit breaker period in 2020
• She was sentenced to six months’ probation
• The prosecution has applied for a stay of execution to consider the judge’s decision

SINGAPORE — A woman who repeatedly left her home during the circuit breaker period last year to meet her then-boyfriend for social purposes was sentenced to six months’ probation on Wednesday (Oct 6).

May Moe Kyi, 23, a Singapore permanent resident from Myanmar, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of leaving her home without a reasonable purpose, and six other charges of meeting a person not living in the same residence.

Twelve other similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing by District Judge Kok Shu-En.

As part of the conditions for her administrative probation, May Moe Kyi must stay indoors from 10pm to 6am every day and perform 40 hours of community service.

A S$5,000 bond must also be put up by her mother and sister, who live with her in Singapore, to ensure her good behaviour during the six-month probation period.

Probation is usually offered to first-time offenders between 16 and 21 years old. May Moe Kyi was 21 years old at the time of the offences.

Probation does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

The prosecution has applied for a stay of execution of the sentencing to consider the judge's decision. The outcome of the application was not immediately clear.

During the circuit breaker, which ended on June 1 last year, people were not allowed to leave their homes except for essential purposes, such as buying groceries or doing essential frontline work, so as to stem the spread of Covid-19.

People were also not allowed to meet others from different households.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Joseph Gwee had sought a fine of at least S$12,000, arguing in his submissions that the primary consideration should be to deter the public from committing such offences during the ongoing pandemic.

DPP Gwee argued that a fine should be imposed because such cases are usually one-off incidents and not a result of criminal mindsets that need to be addressed through rehabilitation with probation.

“The state’s resources should not be overburdened with probation stints for breaches of the regulations.”

The woman’s lawyer Debbie Ooi had previously told the court in mitigation that her client’s actions were “precipitated by a genuine, albeit misguided, attempt to help her fiance who was going through anxiety, suffering from a respiratory infection and cooped up in his friend’s home”.

“Her sister underwent depression and she did not wish to lose another loved one,” Ms Ooi added.

The current status of the relationship between May Moe Kyi and Mr Francis was not made clear in court documents.

District Judge Kok said on Wednesday that although probation for adults should be the exception rather than the norm, May Moe Kyi shows a high capacity for reform and has a conducive environment for turning over a new leaf.

ABOUT THE CASE

May Moe Kyi committed the offences between April 7 last year, which was the first day of the circuit breaker period, and April 26.

The court heard that she left her home in Chua Chu Kang 10 times and took private-hire Grab rides to meet her boyfriend, Mr Ferris Frederick Francis, now aged 22. It is unclear if he has been prosecuted.

On eight of these occasions, she met him at the area outside his public flat along Bukit Batok Street 24, where they did “jumping jacks, lunges and other cardiovascular exercises”, the court heard.

She would then spend time at his home before leaving.

The court also heard that on two occasions, she had gone to his place to play games and watch movies with him.

Once, on April 25, she went to Yew Tee Point mall to get food for herself and Mr Francis before heading to his place.

The next day, she went to his house again and spent more than 11 hours outside her own home.

For each charge, she could have been fined up to S$10,000 or jailed for up to six months, or punished with both.
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...yfriend-10-times-exercise-watch-movies-during

 

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Ex-teacher from One World International School fined $4,000 after hurling vulgarities at policeman while drunk​

Gary Joseph Bates Holland was also not wearing a mask when he committed the offence outside Jurong Point shopping mall in the wee hours of June 26 last year. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Oct 14, 2021

SINGAPORE - A former teacher from One World International School (OWIS) was fined $4,000 on Thursday (Oct 14) after he hurled vulgarities at a policeman while intoxicated.
Briton Gary Joseph Bates Holland, 37, was also not wearing a mask when he committed the offence outside Jurong Point shopping mall in the wee hours of June 26 last year.
He pleaded guilty to one count each of using abusive words on a public servant and committing an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
Two other charges - causing annoyance to a man while drunk in public and verbally abusing a second police officer - were considered during sentencing.
The court heard that at 1.36am that day, the police received a call that two drunk people were "causing trouble" outside Jurong Point.
Details about the second drunk person and the outcome of his or her case were not disclosed in court documents.

Two police officers, Sergeant Muhammad Nasri Mustafa and Sergeant Chua Kian Tiong, arrived at the scene four minutes later and saw security staff from the shopping mall talking to Holland.
The policemen saw that he was not wearing a mask.
When asked, Holland said he did not know where his mask was.
When the officers approached the Briton, he responded by shouting that he would kick them if they did not stay away.

The policemen then said that they were there to help him.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Audrey Choo said: "The accused continued to react in a hostile manner, saying that he would 'take them down' if they touched him, just as 'the others' had done to him. The accused did not explain who 'the others' (were)."
Holland then hurled vulgarities at Sergeant Nasri when the policeman asked for his identity card for screening purposes.
Holland also said: "You police can't do anything to me."
He was looking away when Sergeant Nasri pinned him to the ground. Sergeant Chua then handcuffed him.

Holland continued shouting vulgarities and exclaimed: "You can't arrest me."
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, OWIS said he has "already resigned", adding: "We have no further comments to offer."
Defence lawyer Sankar Kailasa Thevar Saminathan told the court on Thursday that his client has returned to teaching but did not disclose his current workplace.
For hurling vulgarities at a police officer, Holland could have been jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.
For committing an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, he could have been jailed for up to six months and fined up to $1,000.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Took leave of absence in July "to resolve personal matters" but went to China to get a new job.

Swimming: Singapore national head coach Widmer to leave top job prematurely​

Stephan Widmer joined the Singapore Swimming Association in 2017 and is also its performance director.PHOTO: ST FILE

David Lee

OCT 18, 2021


SINGAPORE - After a months-long absence, national swimming head coach Stephan Widmer has left his post at the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) prematurely.
SSA executive director Edwin Ker told The Straits Times on Monday (Oct 18) said that the association and Widmer “have mutually agreed to terminate his contract as of 17 October 2021”.
ST understands that the Australian had gone on overseas leave before the Tokyo Olympics opened on July 23 and was due to return to Singapore in mid-October. However, the SSA’s performance director has not flown back from China as of Monday.
Earlier, a promotional video published by China-based LJ Swimming Club had emerged online, revealing that Widmer had joined the Beijing-based outfit. Its founder, former Chinese swimmer Liu Jing, made the surprise announcement in the minute-long clip.
It is believed that the video was recorded before the July 23-Aug 8 Olympics.
In the segment filmed at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, Widmer is seen saying: “I’m just so excited about this video clip announcing that I will join LJ Swimming very soon in the future and I’m really, really looking forward to Beijing.”


However, he was then still employed by SSA and his contract was to run till Dec 31.
Responding to queries yesterday, Ker added: “Stephan Widmer has clarified and apologised to SSA about the video. SSA gave Stephan a leave of absence to help him to resolve his personal matters since July. The SSA ensured that the preparations for the Olympics were not affected during this period.”
Widmer could not be reached for comment.

Stephan Widmer is listed as one of LJ Swimming Club's foreign coaches on its website. PHOTO: SCREEN SHOT FROM WWW.LJSWIM.COM

The former head coach, who joined SSA in 2017, was granted leave to skip the Olympics and did not travel to Japan with swimmers Joseph Schooling, Quah Zheng Wen and Quah Ting Wen in July.
In his absence, SSA technical director Sonya Porter took charge, while Sergio Lopez, Widmer’s predecessor, was in Schooling’s corner.
Widmer had arrived in Singapore with an impressive CV as state head coach of Queensland with Swimming Australia. He had previously worked with Olympic champions Libby Trickett, Leisel Jones and Jessicah Schipper, while his swimmers had set 20 world records and won 16 world championship titles.
During his time with the SSA, Singapore won a bronze at the 2017 world championships; two golds, one silver and three bronzes at the 2018 Asian Games; and 42 golds at the 2017 and 2019 SEA Games.
But the national swimmers had a disappointing campaign in Tokyo, with Olympic champion Schooling failing to retain his 100m butterfly gold, and all three did not advance out of their respective heats.
With the national swim team facing a packed competition schedule next year with the SEA Games (mid-May), July 28-Aug 8 Commonwealth Games and Sept 10-25 Asian Games, it is understood that national training centre head coach Gary Tan is in line to take over Widmer as national head coach.
Ker said: “SSA will be announcing our plans soon. Given our depth in the coaching fraternity, SSA will continue to ensure that his departure does not affect our swimmers and coaches.”

 

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Woman jailed for throwing unfaithful boyfriend’s television, speaker from 50th-storey condo unit

By LOUISA TANG
Published OCTOBER 19, 2021

Nuria Ling/TODAY

• Maria Isabel Lluen Saenz, 49, threw a television, sound bar and speaker from the balcony of her 50th-storey condominium unit in Marina Bay.
• Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.
• Maria Isabel Lluen Saenz’s then-boyfriend had cheated on her during trips to Batam, Indonesia
• She confronted him and he confessed but tried to make amends and proposed to marry her
• A week later, they argued and she threw his belongings from their 50th-storey condominium unit
• The couple have since gotten married

SINGAPORE — A week after her boyfriend confessed to cheating on her, Maria Isabel Lluen Saenz told him she no longer wanted to be with him and threw some of his belongings from the balcony of their 50th-storey condominium unit in Marina Bay.

They included a television, sound bar and speaker, all of which were severely damaged from the impact. No one was struck or injured.

Saenz, who recently resigned from her teaching role at the Canadian International School here, has since tied the knot with him.

The Peruvian national, 49, was sentenced to seven weeks’ jail on Tuesday (Oct 19) for committing the killer litter offence in the wee hours of Feb 28 last year.

She pleaded guilty in a district court to one charge of endangering the personal safety of others by a rash act.

WHAT HAPPENED

The couple had been together for at least two years, and moved into the V at Shenton condominium along Shenton Way eight months before the incident.

The court heard that Saenz found out about her boyfriend’s infidelity on Feb 21 last year when he had gone on a trip to Batam, Indonesia.

He was uncontactable until the following day, when he admitted that he had been cheating on her during trips to Batam.

He returned to Singapore shortly afterwards and said he wanted to marry her, but she told him she did not want to talk to him.

Over the following week, he attempted to patch things up with her and followed through with his promise to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

In the hours before the incident, they watched a movie at VivoCity shopping mall and had dinner at a restaurant where they shared two bottles of wine. She asked him for details about the woman he had had the affair with, and he told her.

After taking a taxi back to their unit, she accused him of lying and told him to leave.

Defence counsel Anil Singh Sandhu told the court: “That’s where Maria reasoned with him that she was calling off their relationship due to his infidelity and told him to leave. He objected to her demands and that’s when Maria raised her voice.

“It’s very unfortunate that (he) lost his temper and assaulted her. He punched her on the facial region… That's when she started moving his things to the balcony and a struggle ensued.”

The court further heard that when Saenz began moving his belongings to the balcony, her boyfriend told her it was going to rain and that he wanted to move the television into the unit.

Saenz replied that she did not care and threw it over the balcony.

She also broke his sound bar against the balcony railing and threw it over. She then tossed a speaker over, which shattered in pieces on the road below.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Andre Ong told the court that Saenz was aware of how dangerous her actions were but did them anyway.

Her boyfriend then packed his belongings and left the unit, before the condominium’s security supervisor approached him and said that the police were arriving.

Security officers from the neighbouring Singapore Chinese Orchestra building also went over and complained about a broken television beside their van.

Saenz has since made restitution of S$1,000 to him.

HUSBAND HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER: LAWYER

While referring to other killer litter cases that have come before the courts, DPP Ong noted that the items Saenz had thrown were much larger than shoe racks, potted plants or shoes, for example.

They posed a “high degree of danger to human life” and it was “merely fortuitous” that no one was injured or killed, the prosecutor added, in seeking at least eight weeks’ jail.

In mitigation, Mr Singh said Saenz first came to Singapore in 2010 to teach on a part-time basis at United World College before getting hired full-time at the Canadian International School. She was an educator for 24 years and maintained a clean record throughout her life, he added.

The defence counsel also said that Saenz’s now-husband “has changed for the better but his conduct was very much left to be desired” at the time of the offence.

The lawyer added that they are in a “much better place now” and Saenz’s husband is devoted to her. She will be repatriated and likely cannot teach again, and they will both leave Singapore after she serves her jail term.

In sentencing Saenz, District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam said that a high fine, which Mr Singh sought, was “wholly inadequate” even if it was the maximum.

Saenz will begin serving her sentence on Thursday and remains out on bail. Her husband was in court with her.

She could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$2,500, or both.

 

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Man gets jail, caning for molesting neighbour's 8-year-old daughter and showing her porn​

The entrance of the Supreme Court in Singapore.

Lydia Lam​

@LydiaLamCNA
12 Sep 2019

SINGAPORE: A 47-year-old man was sentenced to four years' jail and nine strokes of the cane on Thursday (Sep 12) for molesting a girl who lived next door.
The Malaysian national and Singapore permanent resident had molested the eight-year-old girl on two occasions in 2017 and showed her child pornographic material.
All parties cannot be named due to gag orders issued by the court.
The first time in September 2017, the married man went to his neighbour's house to help him fix the water heater, but later returned when the neighbour left for work and molested the victim.
On the second occasion in December that year, he lied to his wife that he was going to work at Marina Bay Sands and went there with her. While she shopped, he returned home and went to his neighbour's, where he molested the girl and engaged in sex acts with her.
Justice Pang Khang Chau first addressed "the very young age" of the victim.
"Even though the defence counsel says that an eight-year-old is not as defenceless as a toddler, the court should nevertheless take into account that eight years is significantly younger than 14," he said.
He did not agree with the defence that the first incident was "opportunistic", as there was planning involved with the offender leaving the victim's house and returning when the father was not around.

ACTS OF LUST LEAVE INDELIBLE MARK: PROSECUTION
The prosecution had asked for five years' jail, saying the man had committed very serious offences against a young child, abusing the trust of his neighbours and close family friends.
"His acts of lust would leave an indelible mark on the life of a young innocent child, and destroyed the close, almost three-decade friendship shared between two families," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Marshall Lim.
The defence had asked for two years' jail, saying his client had pleaded guilty before the original trial was set to commence, saving the victim the need to relive the events under cross-examination.
Defence lawyer Peter Keith Fernando said his client had erectile dysfunction since he was in a motorbike accident in 1998, the same year he met his wife of 11 years.
He said in his mitigation plea that there was no evidence to show any physical or psychological harm caused to the victim.
"Our client stands before your honour today as an utterly remorseful and contrite man," said Mr Fernando. "He is a family man who has decided to face the punishment for the wrong he has done, and to start his life afresh with his wife upon his release from prison."
The judge granted the man a two-week deferment of his sentence so he could resign from his job and be with his family.
He is out on S$100,000 bail posted by his wife.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Ex-employee of semiconductor giant Micron fined, penalised for receiving bribes​

The CPIB said Karu Jeyamani Karrupiah had received bribes totalling $16,000 on nine occasions.PHOTO: CORRUPT PRACTICES INVESTIGATION BUREAU
Isabelle Liew

Oct 20, 2021

SINGAPORE - A former employee of semiconductor firm Micron was on Wednesday (Oct 20) sentenced to a fine of $16,000 and a penalty of $5,000 for receiving bribes.
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said that Karu Jeyamani Karrupiah, 43, had received bribes totalling $16,000 on nine occasions between Nov 17, 2016, and July 11 last year.
The Malaysian was at the time a senior technical specialist at Micron Semiconductor Asia Operations and responsible for overseeing a variety of maintenance works for Micron's mechanical-related systems.
Karu accepted the bribes from Veerasamy Raghu, the then director of construction firm Royal Quality Management (RQM), in exchange for advancing RQM's business interests with Micron.
RQM had been one of Micron's contractors since 2013.
Raghu sensed an opportunity when Karu became a father and around Nov 17, 2016, offered him money to advance RQM's business interests. Karu agreed to Raghu's offer and received $1,000 from him in his bank account.

On eight occasions between June 2017and July 11 last year, Karu received bribes from Raghu ranging from $1,000 to $4,000.
In return, Raghu expected Karu to continue engaging RQM for maintenance works such as scaffolding works, changing of air-conditioning filter works, and cleaning scrubber packings for Micron.
CPIB said investigations showed that from 2016 to 2020, there was an increase in the number of assignments which Micron, through Karu, awarded to RQM.
Karu was charged on Sept 2 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Anyone who is convicted of corruption can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $100,000.
CPIB said Singapore has a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption, and that companies are strongly advised to put in place robust procedures in areas such as procurement and internal audit to prevent falling victim to corrupt acts by their employees.
Guidance for companies on how to prevent corruption can be found in Pact: A Practical Anti-Corruption Guide for Businesses in Singapore, which is available on CPIB's website.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Nearly 6 years’ jail for former accountant who embezzled S$1m to pay ‘taxes’ to scammers

By LOUISA TANG
Published OCTOBER 26, 2021


Sharon Tan got away with the embezzlement for almost a year, until a fellow accountant conducted an audit and discovered missing funds in one of the company’s bank accounts.

SINGAPORE — After being scammed by cryptocurrency traders, Sharon Tan Jia Ee decided to misappropriate about S$1 million from her employer in order to pay the “taxes” they were asking for and to repay her brother for trading on her behalf.

She got away with this for almost a year, until a fellow accountant conducted an audit and discovered missing funds in one of the company’s bank accounts.

On Tuesday (Oct 26), the 32-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to five years and 11 months’ jail for her actions. She pleaded guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust by an employee, with another cheating charge taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that she worked as an accountant for ITAL Auto, which conducted car sales and car servicing. Its sister companies are Komoco Motors and MBSA Automotive.

As part of her job, she was entrusted with MBSA Automotive’s bank account and she could also access Komoco Motors’.

Before Jan 2020, a friend had introduced Tan to a cryptocurrency trading platform known as KPCB.

She then deposited 5,000 ringgit (about S$1,600) into the trade-in account, made some money and received her earnings in her Malaysian bank account. Because of this, she was enticed to deposit more money into the trading account.

She then introduced her older brother to KPCB and he transferred 100,000 ringgit to her to trade on his behalf.

Later, when she tried to withdraw her earnings again, KPCB gave her numerous reasons why it could not pay her the money.

It also persisted in asking for more money to be deposited under the pretext that there was a “tax” for the income she had made. Out of desperation, she decided to misappropriate money from the MBSA Automotive bank account to pay these “taxes” and to repay her sibling.

Between June 29 last year and April 30 this year, Tan embezzled about 3 million ringgit that was supposed to be for MBSA Automotive’s operating expenses. Records showed that she made 72 unauthorised transfers to her personal bank account.

When there was only about 500 ringgit left in the company’s account in March this year, Tan cheated Komoco Motors’ director into signing cheques that were deposited into the account. She then continued misappropriating money.

The following month, Ms Low Hui Li, another accountant, was auditing the three companies and asked Tan to provide the accounts for MBSA Automotive and Komoco Motors.

When Tan kept delaying the matter, Ms Low grew suspicious and accessed MBSA Automotive’s account after retrieving Tan’s internet banking token from her desk.

Ms Low was shocked to discover how little money there was left. She and the director of ITAL Auto then went over to Tan’s home and questioned her.

Tan confessed to her crimes, saying that she could repay MBSA Automotive and showing them the mobile application for the cryptocurrency platform.

She also admitted that she could have been scammed and that she had used a small amount of the misappropriated money for her personal expenses, having given all her money to KPCB.

She has since made restitution of about S$17,500. Her jail sentence was backdated to May 19 when she was first arrested.

For criminal breach of trust by an employee, she could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

 

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Construction general manager who cheated MHA gets 19 months' jail; wife fined $15,000​

Singaporean Cheow Boon Peng (right) and his Malaysian wife Kuan Pooi Yee committed the offences by submitting quotations for works from their company.

ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Oct 29, 2021

SINGAPORE - The mastermind of a scheme that saw numerous departments under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cheated over a period of three years was on Friday (Oct 29) sentenced to 19 months' jail.
Singaporean Cheow Boon Peng, now 43, and his Malaysian wife Kuan Pooi Yee committed the offences by submitting quotations for works from their company as well as fake quotations purportedly from other firms.
Kuan, now 37, was fined $15,000 over her roles in the ruse.
At the time of the offences, Cheow was the general manager of Buildforms Construction while his wife was a director.
The scheme involved the submission of fictitious quotations to several MHA departments for bidding in construction projects.
These quotations paved the way for Buildforms Construction to be awarded projects worth some $165,000 from 2012 to 2014.

On Sept 29, Cheow was convicted of 10 cheating charges, while Kuan was convicted of three.
In sentencing the pair on Friday, District Judge Marvin Bay said: "The deceptions had effectively locked MHA into a closed market of just one party - Buildforms - (which) could specify their price at will since the fictitious bids would always be higher."
In December 2011, Buildforms became the sole sub-contractor for all MHA building works at its West Zone properties.
MHA departments in that zone included the Singapore Police Force, Home Team Academy, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, and Singapore Civil Defence Force.

As part of this arrangement, Buildforms was to source for three quotations for certain works.
These jobs would be awarded to the lowest priced quotation that met MHA's requirements and offered the best value for money.
Cheow and Kuan had initially attempted to obtain genuine quotations from other sub-contractors through Buildforms Construction.

But the sub-contractors did not always respond.
In January 2012, Cheow came up with the idea to prepare fake quotations from other companies to be submitted together with Buildforms' own.
His plan was to have Buildforms' quotation be the lowest bid, ensuring the firm would be awarded the jobs.
Cheow then taught Kuan how to prepare fake quotations from other companies and she in turn taught some of Buildforms' admin staff to do this.
The fake quotations were created under the letterheads of Gecko Design and Woodworks, E/S Cleaning and Maintenance Enterprise, and Air Builder.
The admin staff would obtain the letterheads of these companies to create fake documents.
The staff made a fake stamp bearing the name of Gecko Design and Woodworks, which was used to stamp the fake quotation documents.
In the case of the other two companies, the staff would superimpose the company stamps on the documents before photocopying them, making it look like the company stamp was genuinely stamped on the fake quotation.
MHA departments would sometimes ask Buildforms to provide supporting correspondence with the companies that had purportedly submitted quotations.

To get around this, Cheow created fake e-mail accounts to generate false e-mail threads, teaching the admin staff to do the same.
In this way, MHA departments were deceived and awarded numerous jobs to Buildforms from January 2012 to November 2014.
Court documents do not disclose how the conspiracy was finally uncovered.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Former employee at a care facility jailed 9 weeks for repeatedly kicking autistic resident

By LOUISA TANG
Published OCTOBER 28, 2021

• A man working in a home for adults with special needs assaulted a resident who has autism and mild intellectual disability
• He threw the victim to the ground, stepped on his abdomen and kicked him many times
• The offences came to light only when the victim’s mother found a bruise on his thigh
• Three others who saw what the worker was doing did not report the matter

SINGAPORE — At a home for adults with special needs, a staff member assaulted a resident who had autism, mild intellectual disability and epilepsy twice in a day.

The victim suffered a large bruise on the back of his thigh stretching down from his hip, which his mother later discovered.

The worker, a 28-year-old Indian national, was jailed for nine weeks on Thursday (Oct 28) for his actions last year. He had pleaded guilty last month to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable victim.

He, the victim and the home cannot be named due to a court order to protect the victim’s identity.

The victim, aged 36, has lived at the home since 2019 where he is given weekly home leave.

The staff member was previously employed here on a work permit and had worked at the home for more than a year before assaulting the victim on Sept 9 last year.

FIRST INCIDENT

That morning, the victim approached the worker and grabbed his shirt collar, the court heard. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of what happened was played in court.

The worker threw the victim to the ground, pinned him there by holding onto his hands and placed his knee on the victim’s abdomen. He then stood up and stepped on the victim’s abdomen once while the victim lay on the ground, then dragged him to the centre of the room.

He then let go of the victim’s hands and kicked the victim five times on his thigh, before the victim sat up.

They “communicated for a while” and the victim stood up, removing his pants and underwear. The worker, who had put on a pair of gloves, then took him to the toilet to clean up some faeces in his underwear.

Although a fellow employee witnessed this, she said that she walked away and did not think of reporting the matter because she did not want to get into trouble.

She also said that the victim had seen her and pointed towards her, as if to ask for help, but the man told her not to get involved.

In the CCTV footage, another staff member could also be seen walking towards the room. The victim waved at her but the accused raised a finger, prompting the staff member to turn around and leave.

SECOND INCIDENT

Later the same day while in a room with several other residents, the victim touched the accused’s shirt collar again in an incident also filmed on CCTV.

Shortly after that, the worker moved towards the victim, grabbed his outstretched hand and dragged him down.

The worker then kicked the victim thrice while pointing at him and gesturing at him to stand up.

While this was happening, a 30-year-old woman entered the room and eventually took the victim out of the room. She had been in the adjacent room when she heard the worker shouting and saw him kicking the victim.

When she told the worker to stop, he said that he could handle the matter and asked her to go away. She stayed, however, and he stopped kicking the victim.

Three days later, the victim returned home and his mother discovered the bruise on his thigh. She contacted the home about the matter, before sending an email to its chief executive officer when she was dissatisfied with the replies.

The CEO then contacted her and told her about the CCTV footage. He also apologised profusely to her, which she accepted.

She then allowed him to take the necessary action against the accused.

During investigations, the CEO explained that autistic patients occasionally grabbed other people’s shirts due to anxiety, which could lead to aggression if not properly handled.

However, the CEO noted that staff members had been trained for such situations and to “disengage the resident without the use of (disproportionate) force”.

The worker also said that the victim sometimes grabbed his shirt collar when he wanted to pull the worker to the ground.

In a medical report from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), a psychiatrist noted that the victim had a long-standing history of behaving aggressively towards other people and property since a young age, having been admitted to IMH on 22 separate occasions for behavioural problems.

However, the psychiatrist also said that his behaviour had been relatively stable. No aggressive behaviour was reported during his most recent interview in December last year.

The worker was represented by defence counsel SS Dhillon, who asked for four weeks’ jail.

During sentencing, District Judge John Ng told the worker: “Of course, the work done by people like you is not easy, I think it’s a very tough situation, but nevertheless the message must be very clear — in no way can we ever have such a situation being condoned.”

For causing hurt to a vulnerable adult, the worker could have been jailed for up to six years or fined up to S$10,000, or punished with both.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Goutseva wants Greek PR but not SG PR?

Artistic swimming: Hunt on for new national coach as Goutseva quits abruptly​

Swimming coach Anastasia Goutseva (center) is confident about duet pair Debbie Soh (left) and Miya Yong's prospects of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE SWIMMING ASSOCIATION

David Lee


NOV 1, 2021

SINGAPORE - An unexpected turn of events has resulted in the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) losing its national artistic swimming coach Anastasia Goutseva.
The 46-year-old Belarusian tendered her resignation and stepped down from her role on Sunday (Oct 31), 11 months before her two-year contract ends after the Sept 10-25 Asian Games.
She had taken urgent leave in early October to travel to Greece to attend to issues with her permanent residency there.
Goutseva was apologetic for her abrupt departure, as she told The Straits Times: "After returning to Greece, I was told that I will need to have employment in Greece in order to maintain my permanent residency status.
"It is my desire to obtain citizenship in Greece eventually so thus I have to make this very tough decision to request to resign with waiver of notice. I am very sorry to have disappointed Singapore but I hope to seek understanding for the situation that I am in."
She is confident about duet pair Debbie Soh and Miya Yong's prospects of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics "if they continue their current trajectory in terms of their progress", as well as the team cementing their top-six status at the Asian Games in 2022 and 2026.

She added: "We need to continue to expose our girls more in overseas competitions, especially the Fina World Series. We will also need to do more to increase the talent pool and grow the pipelines.
The Aspire programme will be key to get more kids to be interested in artistic swimming and to improve their technical skills."
The developmental skills programme teaches swimmers basic skills and moves to more advanced techniques as they progress through the levels.
SSA noted that under her tutelage, Soh and Yong had scored personal bests in the duet free and duet technical routines at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers in Barcelona in June.
Its executive director Edwin Ker said the search is on for a "suitable coach to continue with the progress that Anastasia has made", while Swimfast Aquatic Group's Li Jing and Speediswim Aquatic Centre's Katya Kulpo will serve as acting national coaches to continue preparing the athletes for the World Championships in May and the Asian Games.
He added: "Anastasia has done very well as our national head coach since her appointment. She has also worked closely and spent time mentoring club coaches when she could. She has struck a good working relationship with the community and will be missed by coaches, athletes and parents.
"We are definitely hoping to engage a new national coach as soon as possible. The duet pair will be looking to work with a world class choreographer to work on their routines for next year."
Goutseva's replacement will be the fourth national coach that the artistic swimmers have had to work with in less than four years, with the post also previously filled by Maryna Tsimashenka and Geraldine Narvaez.

But Soh chose to look at the positives of having learnt different things from various coaches and adapting to new situations and ideas.
The 23-year-old said: "Training under Coach Anastasia was tiring in a good way, but also very insightful as she provided a very hybrid cultural perspective having lived and coached in Belarus, Canada and Greece.
"Under her guidance, we have learnt and grown even more and understood our strengths and weaknesses more than before. We have also improved in our technical skills and abilities and be more disciplined, as well as have open communication between each other. She really spurs me on to be a better and more reflective athlete, and to not be afraid to ask questions.
"I hope the next coach will be able to quickly adapt to our team culture and dynamics and continue to be one who brings us to newer heights at the Asian Games and to qualify for future Olympics."

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Businesswoman fined $7,000 for Covid-19 breaches at influencer event on yacht​

Lin Pei Ju had allowed over a dozen social media influencers on board a craft where they flouted safe distancing rules.

ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

Nov 3, 2021


SINGAPORE - To promote her business as an organiser of events such as retreats, a yacht manager allowed over a dozen social media influencers on board a craft where they flouted safe distancing rules amid the pandemic last year and took part in activities without wearing masks.
Lin Pei Ju, 42, a Canadian who is a Singapore permanent resident, was fined $7,000 on Wednesday (Nov 3) after pleading guilty to one count of breaching a Covid-19 control order.
Another two charges of not wearing a mask and gathering with 12 others on the yacht were taken into consideration for her sentencing.
Lin's friend and co-organiser of the event, Lim Tian Yi, 35, was fined the same amount in September. He is the founder of Koli, a marketing platform for influencers.
The court heard that the duo had planned the event on Nov 18 last year to promote the Anaya Retreat brand - a business in which Lin is a partner - through candle-making, essential oil-making and casual photo-taking on the yacht.
At the time, safe distancing regulations for Covid-19 allowed for a maximum group of five for social gatherings.



A total of 13 attendees were present at the event, including 11 invited influencers.
These were: Mr Damian Tan Kar Sheng, 27; Mr Sean Tan, 29; Mr Titus Low Kaide, 22; Mr Walter Soh Yon Zheng, 24; Mr Nicholas Joel Leong, 26; Ms Kuek Zi Yi, 32; Ms Audrey Chen Ying Fang, 29; Ms Chai Ann Gie, 28; Ms Nicole Chen Lin, 34; Ms Monica Tang Yifei, 34; and Ms Wang Zhiruo, 24.
The 11 boarded the craft at the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club at about 3pm on Nov 18 and met up with Lim and Lin.
The influencers were split into two groups by gender.
While the men were on the upper deck taking photos, the female group was on the lower deck making candles and essential oils.
They later swapped locations and activities. Ms Nicole Chen moved between the two decks throughout the event.
During the activities, they did not wear masks. There was also no safe distancing. At the end of the event at about 7pm, 12 of them gathered on the lower deck to take a group photo.
After the event, Lim uploaded photos of the event on his Facebook account. The authorities investigated the event following a complaint by a member of the public.

Seeking a fine of between $7,000 and $9,000, the prosecution said on Wednesday that the participants had mingled for four hours without safe distancing and that the duo shared equal responsibility in organising the event.
During his sentencing in September, Lim said the influencers had been fined $300 each and he had helped pay the fines for some of them.
For contravening a Covid-19 control order, Lin could have been fined up to $10,000 and jailed for up to six months.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Just like former national swimming head coach Stephan Widmer, once Playbacksides found a better job, he dumped his Singapore job.

Football: FAS and its technical director Joseph Palatsides agree to part ways​

Mr Joseph Palatsides had joined FAS in 2019, and said then that he hoped to rouse local football from its slumber.

PHOTO: ST FILE

David Lee

Nov 9, 2021

SINGAPORE - The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and its technical director Joseph Palatsides have mutually agreed to part ways, the national body's president Lim Kia Tong said on Tuesday (Nov 9).
The FAS will appoint national Under-15 coach and Young Lions assistant coach Philippe Aw, 43, as the interim replacement for Palatsides, 56.
Australian Palatsides had joined FAS in 2019, and said then that he hoped to rouse local football from its slumber.
His initial two-year deal was extended in June until 2023.
He took leave in August and returned to Australia. On Tuesday during a Zoom press conference, Palatsides said the pandemic plus health and personal issues were a large part of his decision to not return to Singapore.
The former defender said he is likely to join A-League's Melbourne Victory as their new head of academy.

FAS president Lim Kia Tong said in June that Palatsides "plays a key role in helping to develop Singapore football especially at this crucial juncture when we are establishing the foundations for the Unleash The Roar national project".
Before his appointment in May 2019, Palatsides was the head of another A-League club Melbourne City's youth academy.
Palatsides, who played and coached in Australia and Greece, oversaw the development of Singapore football in all aspects.
This included enhancing national age-group teams, grassroots and women's football, as well as further strengthening the youth pipeline and coaching structures.