Foreign talent's contributions to Singapore

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E-scooter rider jailed 1 week for riding on road against traffic flow, colliding with pedestrian​

TODAY file pictureThe court heard that Jani was rushing when he crashed into a pedestrian, who suffered injuries including a fractured wrist.

BY

LOUISA TANG​

Published December 8, 2021

SINGAPORE — While rushing to get to the mosque for his Friday prayers, Jani Basha Mohamed Nizamudeen decided to ride his electric scooter on the road against the flow of traffic and ended up crashing into a pedestrian, causing her to fracture her wrist.
On Wednesday (Dec 8), the 41-year-old permanent resident was jailed for one week. He will begin serving his sentence on Dec 15. He told the court that he had to settle some medical appointments for his wife.
He pleaded guilty to a single charge of causing grievous hurt to Madam Ng Geok Yan, 65, by a rash act.
One other charge under the Road Traffic Act — riding a personal mobility device on the road — was taken into consideration for sentencing.
The incident happened on July 19 in 2019 at about 2pm. Jani was heading from home to Masjid Chulia in the Chinatown area.
He was riding on a footpath at first, which was permitted at the time, but then decided to ride on the left-most lane of South Bridge Road towards North Bridge Road. This was because there were many pedestrians on the footpath and he was late for his prayers.

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He then rode against the flow of traffic. There were no vehicles in the lane at the time because they had stopped at a nearby traffic junction.
Just then, Mdm Ng stepped from the footpath onto the lane with the intention of crossing the road, after checking to see that traffic had stopped.
Her back was facing Jani, who failed to keep a proper lookout and collided with her. She fell onto the road from the impact.
Jani called the police a while later, asking if he needed to continue waiting there since the paramedics had told him that they had already informed the police.
An ambulance arrived and took Mdm Ng to the hospital. She had broken her wrist and suffered head injuries.
She was discharged from the hospital on the same day and given seven days of medical leave.

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Jani offered to pay restitution of S$514 for her medical expenses, but she rejected the offer because she had already claimed the sum from her insurer.
For causing grievous hurt by a rash act, he could have been jailed for up to four years or fined up to S$10,000, or punished with both.

 

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Foreign talent used Singapore as a stepping stone to a better-paying job in Australia.

Battle for tech talent driving up salaries, staff attrition, say observers​

Tech professionals who switch jobs can command salary increases of 15 to 20 per cent. PHOTO: ST FILE

Joanna Seow
Manpower Correspondent

Jan 30, 2021

SINGAPORE - When information technology (IT) professional Sean Jerome Llanto was offered an opportunity by another employer to move with his family to Australia, he jumped at the chance.
It did not hurt that the IT solutions provider was offering him about 30 per cent more than his previous salary to jump ship.
Mr Llanto, 30, a robotics process automation solutions architect who had been working in Singapore since 2018, resigned from his previous job in May last year.
The Filipino says he and his wife were eager to be able to spend more time with their baby daughter given the more laid-back lifestyle overseas, and to be nearer other family members living in Australia and New Zealand.
"The move will also allow me to explore my potential further by working on new challenges," says Mr Llanto, who will be leaving Singapore next month.
Even before landing this job, he had been receiving calls from various recruiters and human resource staff as robotics process automation is a hot skill globally.
This is part of the intense battle for talent being waged in the fast-moving IT industry, which observers say is driving up salaries and staff attrition as employers often try to outbid rivals.

Mr Sean Jerome Llanto says he and his wife were eager to be able to spend more time with their baby daughter given the more laid-back lifestyle overseas. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SEAN JEROME LLANTO
Tech professionals who switch jobs can command salary increases of 15 to 20 per cent, according to recruitment firm ManpowerGroup Singapore country manager Linda Teo.
"The shortage of talents in this area and the tightening restrictions on hiring foreigners have made it even harder for companies to hire the tech talent they need," she says.
According to trade association SGTech's survey last year, the top challenge employers face in hiring locals is being unable to match applicants' salary expectations.


"Due to the tech talent war, companies continue to outpay competitors, resulting in raised expectations and higher attrition," says SGTech executive committee member Sharon Teo.
The average monthly resignation rate for IT and other information services rose to 2.5 per cent in the third quarter of last year, according to the latest available data from the Manpower Ministry. This is the highest quarterly figure since 2013.
Ms Sharon Teo adds that the top five areas where skills are in demand are cyber security, cloud computing, product development or management, software development, artificial intelligence and machine-learning.
One issue employers face is that deep skills in these areas cannot be easily learnt through short-form training programmes, she says.


Tech skills are more effectively acquired through immersive problem-solving on the job and appreciating the agile nature of learning at work, with some roles taking nine to 18 months before employees are well trained enough to upgrade to the next level of deeper skills.
This drives the churn in the industry as companies resort to hiring people with broader tech skills since there is such an acute lack of deep tech skills, says Ms Sharon Teo.
She suggests that the Government consider incentivising small and medium-sized enterprises to deliver on-the-job training to help upgrade the workforce's skills through work opportunities.
Mercer Singapore reward products leader Mansi Sabharwal says the talent shortage in tech roles also cuts across all industries as companies continue to accelerate digitalisation to drive productivity.

 

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2 years' jail, 6 strokes for man who acted as lookout during armed robbery of Jurong moneylender​

The man had discussed with two others and agreed to commit a robbery at OT Credit in Jurong Gateway Road in November 2020. ST PHOTO: JEAN IAU
Samuel Devaraj

Feb 3, 2022

SINGAPORE - He was tasked with scouting a licensed moneylender shop to see if the coast was clear before an accomplice joined him in an armed robbery.
But Tusheintar Segaran, a Malaysian, did not follow through with the plan despite entering the shop on Nov 19, 2020. Instead, he became a lookout during the armed robbery later that day.
For his role in the $48,000 heist, the Singapore permanent resident, now 22, was sentenced to two years' jail and six strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to a robbery charge on Thursday (Feb 3).
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lee said in court documents that Tusheintar, Karrtik Stalniraj and Kotta Kumar Jeswanth had discussed and agreed to commit a robbery at OT Credit in Jurong Gateway Road.
Karrtik had suggested targeting the shop as it was staffed by only two female assistants.
On the day of the robbery, Tusheintar and Karrtik stole motorcycle helmets from a carpark in Jurong West to use during the heist.
They arrived at the vicinity of the shop at noon to observe the surroundings to determine an opportune moment to carry out the robbery.

The initial plan was for Tusheintar to enter the shop wearing a motorcycle helmet and pretend to inquire about getting a loan using a birth certificate. He would then signal Jeswanth when the coast was clear.
Jeswanth would then enter the shop and commit the robbery with Tusheintar.
After entering the shop, Tusheintar did not follow through with the plan and left. Court papers did not reveal the reason for his change of mind.
The trio continued to observe the shop until about 4pm when Karrtik decided he did not want to wait any longer. They then agreed to enter the shop together to commit the robbery.
Only one shop assistant - a 36-year-old woman - was there at the time. Jeswanth rushed towards her and pulled her hair with one hand while holding a karambit knife in the other.

A karambit knife used by Kotta Kumar Jeswanth who accosted a female employee during an armed robbery in November 2020 at OT Credit at Block 135 Jurong Gateway Road.</p> PHOTO: SM
DPP Lee said: "Jeswanth pointed the knife at the victim, told the victim not to shout and demanded that she throw cash into a grey haversack which he was carrying in front of his body. The victim was afraid for her safety and complied out of fear."
Jeswanth held on to the victim's ponytail while she was placing money into the haversack. Karrtik searched the shop for more money while Tusheintar acted as a lookout at the entrance.
After the assistant had placed the cash into the haversack, Jeswanth, still grabbing her ponytail, took her to the back of the shop and locked her in the office.
A few minutes after the three men fled, the assistant was rescued by a woman from a neighbouring shop.


The robbers met another man at a cemetery in Lim Chu Kang who was given the karambit knives and empty grey haversack to dispose.
They then split the criminal proceeds, with Tusheintar receiving $14,000 for his part in the heist.
He was arrested by the police in Jalan Kemuning Park in Sembawang at about 4am the next day.
Jeswanth was convicted for his role in the robbery on Jan 20, 2021, and ordered to undergo reformative training, which involves detention in a centre with a strict regimen, including foot drills and counselling.
Karrtik's case is at the pre-trial conference stage.
For armed robbery, an offender can be jailed for between five and 20 years and receive at least 12 strokes of the cane.

 

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Man who had multiple child porn videos in phone given a month's jail​

Sri Lankan Kolambage Dhanushka Chamara Perera pleaded guilty to one count of being in possession of 25 video files depicting child abuse. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Feb 7, 2022

SINGAPORE - A man who was in Singapore on a student pass joined a WhatsApp chat group that was later used as a platform to share obscene videos, including those depicting child pornography.
The court heard that one of the videos involved a baby or toddler.
Sri Lankan Kolambage Dhanushka Chamara Perera, now 25, was on Monday (Feb 7) sentenced to a month's jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of being in possession of 25 video files depicting child abuse.
A second charge of being in possession of more than 2,000 obscene videos was considered during sentencing. These other videos showed sex acts, including bestiality.
The group's administrator is said to be another Sri Lankan, Hindakumbure Charindu Dilshan Rajapaksha, 29, whose case is still pending.
The court heard that a friend had introduced Kolambage to Hindakumbure, who told the younger man that he had created a WhatsApp chat group with "many Sri Lankan people in it".
Kolambage then joined the "Singapore Boys Wela group", which was created in 2019.

The group was initially formed so that its members could share information or news from their home town.
But later on, they started sharing pornographic materials with one another on the platform, the court heard.
Despite these, Kolambage did not leave the group. He later told investigators he was "not really interested" in obscene videos involving underage subjects.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tessa Tan said: "The accused also admitted in the course of investigations that... although he had tried his best to delete 'underage obscene videos', he might have at (times) missed out on deleting them, as there were 'too many of such videos'."
The DPP explained that Kolambage's WhatsApp setting was such that videos and photographs sent by other people would be automatically downloaded into his phone gallery.
"Accordingly, obscene films and child abuse material shared by other participants (in the group) were also automatically downloaded into the accused's phone gallery," she added.

Kolambage's offences came to light on Aug 6, 2020 when a foot patrol officer from the Public Transport Security Command saw him behaving suspiciously at Lavender MRT station around 1pm.
The officer and his colleagues were conducting a check on Kolambage when they saw that the Sri Lankan had a group chat with a display picture showing silhouettes of a man and a woman engaging in what appeared to be a sexual act.
They opened the chat, which had 256 participants, and saw that it had more than 6,000 media files.
Officers arrested Kolambage and seized his mobile phone. Some of the files were later found to contain child pornography.

 

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COVID-19: Woman fined for gathering with 14 other people at Chinese New Year celebration last year​

File photo of the State Courts in Singapore. (Photo: Calvin Oh)

Lydia Lam​

@LydiaLamCNA
07 Feb 2022

SINGAPORE: A woman joined 14 other people at an office unit for a celebration during the Chinese New Year period last year, when the maximum group size under COVID-19 laws was eight.
China national Lin Xiaofeng, 34, was fined S$3,000 by a court on Monday (Feb 7) for her flouting of COVID-19 regulations.
She pleaded guilty to one charge of breaking a COVID-19 regulation by gathering in a group of more than eight people outside her home for a non-permitted purpose. A second charge of leaving her home without reasonable excuse was taken into consideration.
The court heard that three of her co-accused - Chua Li Jin, 32, Low Xiang Hua, 31 and Ethan Tan, 31 - were having dinner on Feb 24, 2021 when Chua proposed having a Chinese New Year gathering.
Chua contacted another co-accused, 39-year-old Ong Hui Siong, who suggested having the gathering at his office in 1 Pemimpin Drive.
Ong contacted other people to help him prepare the office space for the gathering and deal with his guests. Some guests invited other guests, and people turned up for the celebration from 9pm on Feb 24, 2021.
Lin was invited by Low, arriving at the office at about 10pm on Feb 24, 2021. While the group was there, they sang karaoke and drank alcohol.
At about 2am on Feb 25, 2021, an unidentified caller notified the police about "suspicious activity" at 1 Pemimpin Drive.
Police officers went down to the location and heard loud music coming from inside. When they knocked on the door, Ong opened it. The group was seen drinking alcohol, playing games and singing karaoke inside.
There were no measures taken to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, the prosecutor said.
The prosecution and defence agreed that Lin should receive a similar sentence as her co-accused.
The prosecutor asked for a fine of S$3,000 for Lin, saying that the case involved a social gathering of more than eight people in an enclosed venue where COVID-19 regulations were "freely flouted".
"The regulations were enacted in response to the serious public health threat posed by COVID-19," she said.
"In particular, it is critical that individuals keep contact with each other to a minimum. Regulation 6, which criminalises social gatherings whether in public or at home, specifically addresses the need to reduce unnecessary interaction."
She added that the gathering was "frivolous and completely unnecessary", causing a noise disturbance that resulted in a 999 call.
For breaking a COVID-19 regulation, she could have been jailed up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
Most of Lin's 14 co-accused have been sentenced. Most of them received fines of S$3,000 each, except Ong, the tenant of the office space. He was fined S$12,000 in November.
Two others, Joseph Lim Si Swee and Lim Weitzien, were fined S$6,000 each. They had helped Ong prepare the premises for the gathering and had additional charges under the Public Entertainments Act and Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act.
The other cases are pending.

 

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Jail, caning for man who fatally attacked wife over affair with colleague​

Chinese national Cui Huan pushed his wife, causing her to fall and hit the back of her head on the concrete ground in Boon Lay. PHOTO: ST FILE

David Sun
Correspondent

Feb 15, 2022

SINGAPORE - Upset that his wife was having an affair with a colleague, he pushed her to the ground before raining blows on her as she lay curled up on the concrete.
The woman soon stopped breathing, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
On Tuesday (Feb 15), Cui Huan, 25, a Chinese national, was sentenced to seven years' jail and nine strokes of the cane.
He pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt and thereby causing death.
Cui married Ms Liang Xueqiu in 2016 in China.
She was three years older than him, and they have a young child together.
In October 2019, the couple came to Singapore to work for Deli Hub, a catering service under the Neo Group.

They lived separately in flats in Boon Lay and Jurong West, as was company policy.
Cui worked at the store, while Ms Liang worked in the food processing department.
They would usually meet on their days off or after work.


But around March and April 2020, the couple began meeting less often because of different working shifts.
Around June that year, Cui began to suspect that his wife was having an affair with a colleague, Mr Wang Xilai, 28, who worked in the food processing department.
At about 1pm on Aug 27, 2020, Cui saw Ms Liang leave Deli Hub's premises on her bicycle, so he went into the premises to look for Mr Wang, but could not find him.

Disappointed, he cycled to the block in Boon Lay where his wife lived to see if he could catch her cheating on him, but she was not home.
He waited till about 6pm at a nearby park before heading to Boon Lay Shopping Centre, where he spotted his wife cycling home.
He caught up to her and snatched her phone, but was unable to unlock it.
Shortly after, at Ms Liang's block in Boon Lay, Cui grabbed her hand and used her finger to unlock the phone.
They struggled and she bit him on the shoulder.
Cui walked to a nearby park while checking the phone, and found messages that proved that Ms Liang was indeed having an affair with Mr Wang.
She admitted to cheating, but asked him in Mandarin: "What can you do?"
He asked her if she was being fair to him, to which she replied: "So what?"
He slapped her and she slapped him in return.
Cui became enraged, and grabbed Ms Liang, pushing her to the ground.
She fell and the back of her head hit the concrete ground.
As she lay curled up in a foetal position with her hands covering the back of her head, Cui rained blows on her, kicking her three or four times in the back of the head and neck.
He also bent down to punch her on the back of the head.
Ms Liang's blood was later found on Cui's sneakers.
He only stopped the attack when a passer-by shouted at him.
He then shouted at his wife in Mandarin: "You just wait for me to go back to China to divorce you."
Cui then ran to his bicycle and rode off.
Responding to a call, the police arrived at about 6.35pm, and found Ms Liang not breathing. She also had no pulse.
She was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and pronounced dead at around 10pm.
Meanwhile, the police found Cui at about 7.45pm at his home in Jurong West and arrested him.
An autopsy concluded that Ms Liang had died from bleeding in the brain, which was caused either by the fall, or the kicks and punch to her head and neck, or a combination of the two.

In mitigation, Cui's lawyer, Mr John Koh, said the incident arose primarily because of the discovery of the adulterous affair.
"The incident had broken out in hot blood," he said. "But it was not without provocation."
He said that when confronted by Cui, Ms Liang had shouted: "I went to a hotel room to have sex with Xilai. What can you do about it?"
The defence asked for a sentence of not more than five years' jail and nine strokes of the cane, adding that Cui did not think at the time that pushing Ms Liang to the ground would lead to her eventual death.
District Judge Ronald Gwee backdated the sentence to the day of Cui's arrest on Aug 27, 2020.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Cui could have been jailed for up to 10 years and also fined.

 

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Chef behind Michelin Bib Gourmand eatery gets jail and driving ban for drink driving​

Chef Teppei Yamashita. (Photo: 8days.sg)

Lydia Lam​

@LydiaLamCNA
18 Feb 2022

SINGAPORE: A chef behind a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant was given jail and a driving ban on Friday (Feb 18) for drink driving and careless driving which saw him uproot a light pole at a zebra crossing.

Teppei Yamashita, a 41-year-old Japanese national and Singapore permanent resident, was given four weeks' jail and banned from driving for four years. He pleaded guilty to a charge each of drink driving and careless driving.

Yamashita is the director of multiple Japanese eateries, and was behind unagi restaurant Man Man, which is on Singapore's Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list.

The court heard that Yamashita had drunk Suntory beer on the night of Aug 24, 2020 at a restaurant near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station with friends.

At about 11pm, he began driving from International Plaza to Tampines to ferry a friend home.

After dropping his friend off, he began driving from Tampines towards his home.

At about 12.15am, he lost control of his multi-purpose vehicle and veered left at the cross junction of Tampines Avenue 10 and Avenue 5.

He mounted the pedestrian island and collided with a light pole at the zebra crossing, uprooting it.

Another motorist who was two car lengths behind Yamashita saw the accident occur and alighted to help Yamashita.

He noted that he reeked of alcohol, an observation similarly made by a traffic police officer who arrived at the scene shortly after.

Yamashita failed his breathalyser test and was arrested for drink driving. He was given another breath test at about 2am at the traffic police premises.

The test found 102 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of his breath, exceeding the limit of 35 microgrammes per 100ml.

His vehicle was badly damaged as a result, while the uprooted light pole cost S$501.25 to repair. Yamashita made full restitution.

The prosecutor asked for five to six weeks' jail and four years' driving ban, saying Yamashita had been fined in 2018 for speeding and also in 2014 for beating a red light.

He said drink driving is a common problem, with such drivers contributing to serious accidents on roads.

The alcohol level was high, and Yamashita had driven a long distance of about 20km while intoxicated, he said.

His vehicle, an MPV, was a large one which increased the potential harm to other road users, and the accident was at a pedestrian crossing area.

Yamashita's lawyer, from law firm Rajah & Tann, said her client had recently completed chemotherapy for brain cancer.

She said the jail term sought by the prosecution was based on a case of dangerous driving and drink driving, whereas her client's featured careless driving and drink driving.

According to a previous article by 8days.sg, Yamashita started out in 2011 with an omakase restaurant in Tras Link and at one point had 15 eateries in Singapore serving dishes such as live eel and yakitori.

 

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Jail, caning for man who molested 11-year-old girl at void deck after trying to follow her home​

Ili Nadhirah Mansor/TODAY
Jeevenandhan Govindan, 30, arriving at the State Courts on Feb 18, 2022.

• An 11-year-old girl was walking home when Jeevenandhan Govindan followed her, before he molested her and kissed her on the lips
• The incident happened on Feb 23, 2021 in Chua Chu Kang
• Govindan was sentenced to a year's jail and three strokes of the cane

BY

LOUISA TANG​

Published February 18, 2022

SINGAPORE — After drinking some beer with his friend in public, Jeevenandhan Govindan tailed a young girl walking home and molested her, holding onto her hands to prevent her from breaking free.
The incident left the 11-year-old fearful of going anywhere on her own, even in broad daylight, and she questioned why something like that had happened to her.
On Friday (Feb 18), Govindan was sentenced to a year's jail and three strokes of the cane for his actions a year ago.
The 30-year-old India national pleaded guilty to one count of molesting a minor under 14, with another similar charge taken into consideration for sentencing. His victim cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity.
The court heard that around 8.30pm on Feb 23 last year, Govindan had just finished work as a project engineer when he bought three cans of beer and sat near Chua Chu Kang MRT Station to speak to his wife on the phone. His friend then joined him.

At the same time, the victim left her home to go to Lot One mall and have dinner with her mother.
While she was walking along a sheltered pathway, she received a call from her mother who told her that she had forgotten her wallet. The girl then turned around to go back home and retrieve it.
Just then, Govindan and his friend, who were also on the way to Lot One, noticed her walking towards a block of flats. Govindan approached her and asked if she wanted him to accompany her home, adding that he could make her feel better.
The girl rejected him and walked away but he followed her, holding onto her hands to prevent her from leaving.
They then reached a block of flats opposite the victim’s.
Govindan took the girl to a bench and told her to sit down but she refused. He then put his hands on her shoulders.

When she struggled to break free from his grip, he touched her chest, thigh and hand. She pushed him away and told him that she wanted to leave, but he continued holding onto her hands before pulling both their face masks down and kissing her on the lips.
Shocked, she ran off towards her block and called her mother, crying as she related what had happened. The mother told her to go home and not to open the door to anyone until she returned.
They then went to Choa Chu Kang Neighbourhood Police Centre to make a police report.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min said that the incident “left a deep impact” on the victim, who “sometimes feels sad and questions why something like that happened to her”.
The prosecutor sought 12 to 15 months’ jail with three strokes of the cane, arguing that Govindan was persistent in his acts and that there was an element of wrongful restraint.
Govindan’s lawyer, Mr Krishnan Sivanandam, argued that it was a “fleeting touch” and his client had not used force or violence on her.

In sentencing Govindan, District Judge Christopher Goh said that he imposed caning not only because Govindan had touched the girl's private parts, but also because she was “extremely young”.
Those convicted of molesting a minor can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or punished with any combination of the three.

 

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Man jailed 12 weeks for damaging employer's lorry by pouring soil in engine compartment​

Ili Nadhirah Mansor/TODAY
Seeni Paramasivam arriving at the State Courts on Feb 18, 2022.

BY

LOUISA TANG​

Published February 18, 2022

SINGAPORE — While embroiled in a work-related dispute with his employer, Seeni Paramasivam caused S$25,000 in damages to the company’s lorry by pouring soil into its engine compartment.
On Friday (Feb 18), the 40-year-old India national was jailed for 12 weeks after pleading guilty to committing mischief.
At the time of his offence, he worked for engineering firm Integrated Infrastructure as a driver and lived in its dormitory located at 2 Sungei Kadut Street 4. He got into a work-related dispute with the company in 2020.
No other details were given on the dispute, but the court heard that his monthly basic salary was S$465 and his monthly net salary — after taking into account overtime pay, allowances and other deductions — was about S$1,000.
On March 21, 2020 at about 2am, he was drinking beer in his dormitory room when he grew frustrated, feeling like his employer was not listening to him. He then decided to do something to gain the firm’s attention.

He went to the lorry parked in the dormitory’s car park and opened the engine compartment, then poured some soil into it.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yee Jia Yong said that Paramasivam should have known his actions would damage the lorry as he was “an experienced driver”.
His actions were captured on closed-circuit television footage.
The next day, an assigned driver for the lorry reported smoke coming from the engine area. The vehicle was sent to a workshop where Paramasivam’s offences came to light.
He has since made restitution of about S$250 through salary deduction. His employer spent about S$25,000 in repairing the vehicle.
DPP Yee sought at least three months’ jail and did not seek a compensation order due to Paramasivam’s income. His lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya asked for a fine instead.
District Judge Christopher Goh said that while the cost of repairing the damages was not the only determining factor for sentencing, it played a big part in it.
For mischief, Paramasivam could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or punished with both.

 

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5 months' jail for chef who went out while on MC and later tested positive for Covid-19​

Lau Zhi Zhang was sentenced to five months' jail in court on Feb 21, 2022. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Samuel Devaraj

Feb 21, 2022

SINGAPORE - Despite having a medical certificate (MC) for an upper respiratory tract infection, a chef went out more than once during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He went to work, took a train to go home, and also went for a job interview. A few days later, he tested positive for Covid-19.
Malaysian Lau Zhi Zhang, 24, was sentenced to five months' jail on Monday (Feb 21) after pleading guilty to two counts of breaching the Infectious Diseases Act.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Teong told the court that Lau was a long-term visit pass holder working at Napoleon Food & Wine Bar in Telok Ayer.
Sometime in late-March 2020, he developed a fever, cough and runny nose a few days after his wife complained of the same symptoms.
Lau went to a clinic on March 31, and was diagnosed with an upper respiratory tract infection. He had a temperature of 37.7 deg C.
He was given a five-day MC that lasted till April 4, which required him to stay at home. He was reminded by the doctor to do this.

DPP Teong said: "The accused had reason to suspect that he was a case of Covid-19 in the light of his symptoms and the MC issued to him at the clinic."
After leaving the clinic, Lau had lunch at a nearby food centre and returned home.
The next day, he left his home to meet Mr Benjamin Yip Lixian - a colleague from Napoleon Food & Wine Bar - to go to work together.

Mr Yip was aware that Lau had an MC and told him not to go to work, but Lau said he was already on his way.
Lau worked from about 10.30am to 11pm in the kitchen with Mr Yip before taking the train home. The following day, Lau developed a dry cough and lost his sense of taste.
He left his home again on April 3 to have lunch at a food centre. The next day, Lau and Mr Yip, who were both looking for new jobs, went for a job interview at another restaurant.
Lau walked to an MRT station to meet Mr Yip, and the pair took a private-hire car to the restaurant. After their interview with the restaurant manager, they took a taxi to Napoleon Food & Wine Bar.

Despite being on MC and not working, Lau had gone there to have a drink and chat with Mr Yip. Lau told his colleague that he suspected he had Covid-19 since April 2 when he developed the dry cough. Mr Yip advised him to do a swab test as soon as possible.
Mr Yip went to Geylang East Polyclinic for a swab test on April 6 and was notified later that day that he had tested positive for Covid-19. The next day, he was taken by ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, where he was warded until April 19.
Before sentencing, District Judge Toh Han Li said that it has been rare for offenders in such cases to eventually have a positive result for Covid-19, and that it was a "pretty aggravating" factor.
Lau, who was present in court on Monday, was represented by lawyer Anil Singh.
In mitigating for his client, Mr Singh highlighted that Lau had worn a mask when he committed the offences despite it not being mandatory to do so at the time.
For each charge under the Infectious Diseases Act, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.
A repeat offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $20,000.

 

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MOH officer jailed 18 weeks under OSA for leaking Covid-19 data to chat group​

Zhao Zheng would congratulate the member of the chat group who had come the closest to guessing the correct number. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Feb 22, 2022

SINGAPORE - The deputy lead of the Ministry of Health's (MOH) data management unit prematurely leaked the daily number of confirmed Covid-19 positive cases to a chat group comprising 50 members.
Zhao Zheng also played a game with the other members to guess the number of confirmed cases for the day before revealing the actual figure.
She would then congratulate the member who had come the closest to guessing the correct number. On some occasions, she would even send the person one yuan (Singapore 20 cents) as a "good luck" gift.
On Tuesday (Feb 22), Zhao, 37, was sentenced to 18 weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to 11 charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
The Singaporean also admitted to a charge under the Computer Misuse Act.
Tang Lin, 36, who was another Singaporean member of the group on the messaging platform WeChat, was fined $10,000 last year after she pleaded guilty to five charges of wrongful communication under the OSA.
MOH had earlier said that Zhao had been suspended from her job.

The court heard that in 2008, she signed an undertaking to safeguard official information.
She then became an assistant director of the biostatistics and research branch of MOH's Public Health Division.
Some time in February 2020, she was deployed to be the deputy lead of the data management unit, which the ministry had set up in response to the pandemic.

As part of her job, she could find out the number of Covid-19 positive cases in Singapore on a given day before MOH released the information to the public.
Zhao could also find out the profile of each positive case.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Joshua Lim, Selene Yap and Lim Shin Hui stated in court documents that she started to prematurely share the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the chat group as early as March 16, 2020.
The DPPs added: "(She) had told the members... not to disseminate the information she provided to them, as she knew that she was not supposed to share such information.
"The accused would also occasionally share other details relating to the Covid-19 cases... such as how many... were 'imported' cases in a given day."
On some days, Zhao also played the guessing game with the other members.
Some time in March 2020, Tang found out that somebody living at her condominium complex had been confirmed to have Covid-19.
She then sent a private message to Zhao to find out more information about the case.

The prosecutors told the court: "On March 28, 2020, while using her government-issued laptop, (Zhao) performed a function... for the purpose of securing access without authority to data held in a computer... and (searched a spreadsheet) for the address of the condominium (where Tang lived)."
Zhao found out that a resident there had indeed contracted Covid-19. Zhao then shared with Tang details such as her neighbour being an imported case.
The group was eventually disbanded some time after April 16, 2020, when its moderator received information that the daily number of confirmed Covid-19 cases was being shared on a larger scale - beyond the members or their spouses.
The head of MOH’s case reporting team lodged a police report on April 18 that year, stating that the ministry suspected that the daily number of confirmed Covid-19 cases for some days had been leaked.
On Tuesday, the prosecutors urged the court to sentence Zhao to between six and nine months’ jail.
They said: “The leak of the information by the accused... also caused various public agencies involved in the fight against Covid-19 to redirect resources to deal with the consequences of the leak.
“Given the inter-agency cooperation of Singapore’s fight against Covid-19, multiple agencies, including MOH and enforcement agencies, expended resources assessing whether the leaks were true.”
The agencies also had to find out information such as who had access to the files and the number of occasions leaks had taken place.
The DPPs said: “This was extremely time consuming given the viral nature of the information spread, and this had to be done concurrently with their attempts to fight the pandemic.
“Resources had to be spent to ensure that further leaks of information would not take place.”
Zhao was represented by lawyers Sunil Sudheesan, Diana Ngiam and Joyce Khoo.
In their mitigation plea, they told the court that she had never intended to make light of the Covid-19 situation.
The lawyers added: “Our client’s motivation was to do what she could, as a mother, to assuage the fear and uncertainty amongst the other mothers in the WeChat group.
“Our client mistakenly thought she could lighten the mood by occasionally making the sharing of Covid-19 numbers as a game, as it was a time of heightened emotions and stress for all. This is a clear mistake and our client is sincerely sorry.”
Before handing down the sentence on Tuesday, Deputy Presiding Judge S. Jennifer Marie noted that the case involved confidential and sensitive information.
The judge also stressed that Zhao had "breached the trust and confidence" reposed in her.

 

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Man gets 5 days' jail for allowing another to use his Covid-19 vaccination status to enter bar​

Kiran Singh Rughbir Singh allowed Utheyakumar Nallathamby to use his vaccination status to gain entry into a bar on Sept 9, 2021. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

Feb 25, 2022

SINGAPORE - A Malaysian man who let an unvaccinated retiree use his TraceTogether app to pretend he was vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter a bar was sentenced to five days' jail on Friday (Feb 25).
Kiran Singh Rughbir Singh, 37, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of cheating by personation.
The court heard that Singh had gone for drinks at Bikini Bar in Sentosa with his then girlfriend and Utheyakumar Nallathamby, 65, on Sept 9, 2021.
Utheyakumar was denied entry because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19.
At the time, only vaccinated people were allowed to dine in.
Singh suggested that his girlfriend and Utheyakumar go to the nearby Coastes Bar and use his phone to display the vaccination status on the TraceTogether app and so gain entry, while he waited outside.
Utheyakumar was allowed into the bar after doing so.

A bar employee there asked Utheyakumar and Singh's girlfriend to confirm that the information displayed on the phone screens showed their vaccination status. They both said yes.
"In doing so, the accused and Kumar intended to circumvent the safe management measures to enable Kumar to enter and dine on the premises of Coastes Bar despite Kumar's unvaccinated status," Deputy Public Prosecutor Shen Wanqin told the court.
While the pair were having drinks, the Bikini Bar worker who had earlier refused Utheyakumar entry recognised him and recalled that he was unvaccinated against Covid-19.
She told the staff at Coastes Bar, who then checked the phone Utheyakumar was carrying and realised that he was using Singh's phone, TraceTogether app and vaccination status.
The police were alerted.
Seeking three weeks' jail, DPP Shen said Singh had committed the offence for his own selfish interests: "He was the progenitor of the idea to cheat by impersonation. He obstinately wanted Utheyakymar to enter and dine in the bar premises, even after the latter was rejected once at Bikini Bar."
The case against Utheyakumar is still pending.
For cheating by personation, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

 

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$7,000 fine for S'pore PR who illegally redeemed face masks to give to needy seniors​

Pantila Pakamethanan pleaded guilty to one count each of cheating and illegally obtaining personal information. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

Feb 25, 2022

SINGAPORE - A Singapore permanent resident exploited her position as a manager at an investment company to obtain the NRIC numbers of clients to redeem face masks.
She did so, however, hoping to give the masks to seniors who needed them.
Pantila Pakamethanan, a 44-year-old Thai national, was on Friday (Feb 25) sentenced to a $7,000 fine after she pleaded guilty to one count each of cheating and illegally obtaining personal information.
Another two charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Under Temasek Foundation's mask distribution initiative, which started in February last year, each resident in Singapore was entitled to one navy blue MaskPlus Livinguard reusable face mask worth $10.
The masks were dispensed by keying in one's NRIC or foreign identification number at vending machines across the island.
The court heard that Pantila was working as a finance and relationship manager at Chartered Investment Managers at the time of her offences.

She had access to the personal data of her clients to open and close bank accounts for them, among other responsibilities.
She was not authorised to use the personal data of clients for her own purposes.
In October 2020, Pantila used the NRIC numbers to obtain five masks worth $50 from a vending machine in Ang Mo Kio.


Court documents show that all five clients are Japanese nationals who obtained PR status here.
Said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair: "The accused thought that the (clients) would not collect the masks that they were entitled to."
He added that Pantila intended to take the masks to a third party who would send them to the elderly who needed them.
Her offences came to light on March 5 last year after a police report was made by a client's family member.
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The masks were recovered, as they had not been given out yet.
DPP Sunil told the court that fines had not been imposed for similar cases involving illegal mask redemption.
"If weight is accorded to the accused's apparent motivation to do social good, high fines for both charges may be an appropriate alternative to custodial terms as an exception," he said.
He added, however, that low fines should not be imposed. He said: "There are numerous other ways for the accused to do social good without the abuse of trust and disregard for the law that she showed."
For each offence of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
The offence of illegally obtaining personal information carries a maximum penalty of a three-year jail term and a $10,000 fine.

 

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10 months' jail for man who bit off tip of co-worker's finger in scuffle​

Logan Govindaraj pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Feb 25, 2022

SINGAPORE - A construction worker bit off the tip of his colleague's little finger in a scuffle after falsely accusing the latter of sleeping with other men in their dormitory.
A portion of 42-year-old Muthu Selvam's left pinky was later found at the crime scene but a doctor, who attended to him, could not reattach it to his hand.
His attacker, Logan Govindaraj, now 31, was on Friday (Feb 25) sentenced to 10 months' jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
Both men are Indian nationals.
At 4.30pm on Dec 6, 2020, Logan joined Mr Muthu and another worker, who was playing music and drinking alcohol, in a lorry parked near their dormitory at an industrial estate in Kranji Crescent.
The court heard that Logan drank at least three cans of beer.
While drunk, he scolded Mr Muthu and falsely accused him of sleeping with the other workers. Mr Muthu told him to stop lying and asked him to leave.

After both of them got off the lorry, Logan kept shouting and obstructed Mr Muthu, who pushed him out of the way while placing his left hand on Logan's chest.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Lee told the court: "The accused bit the victim's left pinky knowing he would likely cause grievous hurt to him."
Mr Muthu, who was bleeding profusely, retaliated by slapping Logan's head and grabbing his shirt.
Realising that the tip of his finger was missing, Mr Muthu went to clean it and asked his colleagues to call for an ambulance. He was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.

 

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General manager of subcontracting firm involved in Bidadari BTO fined $50,000 for corruption​

Lu Zhibo was fined $50,000 on March 2, 2022. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

Mar 2, 2022

SINGAPORE - A general manager of a subcontracting firm involved in a Build-To-Order (BTO) housing project had given a contractor $24,000 in loans as he did not want to sour their relationship.
Lu Zhibo, 39, who held the highest position in the Singapore branch of Nanjing Minglu Construction Engineering (NMCE), was fined $50,000 on Wednesday (March 2).
Lu, a Chinese national, had pleaded guilty to three charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and one count of instigating his worker to make a false entry for a payment he had made in NMCE's name.
Another 13 similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The court heard that in 2016, the Housing & Development Board (HDB) awarded three contracts for the construction of nearly 1,800 units in the Bidadari Estate to Rich Construction Company (RCC).
RCC then hired NMCE as a subcontractor to do concrete works for the project. The contract was valued at over $4.79 million.
Sometime in April 2018, Wong Wei Chern - a project manager at RCC - told Lu he was facing financial difficulties and asked him for a loan of $10,000.

Wong, a 39-year-old Malaysian, also lied to Lu about paying $10,000 in penalties on NMCE's behalf to an architectural firm for mistakes made by its workers.
Though he believed that Wong was making excuses to borrow money, Lu complied and transferred him $5,000 from NMCE's account.
This was to induce Wong not to make things difficult for NMCE in relation to its work, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong.


In August that year, Wong lied to Lu again about penalties he had paid for NMCE and requested to be "reimbursed".
Lu loaned him another $2,000 from his company's account.
In December 2018, Wong told Lu that his superiors had instructed him to deduct $50,000 from NMCE's payment as its workers' mistakes had caused RCC to get demerit points from HDB.
There were no such instruction, the court heard.

In total, Lu had corruptly given Wong $24,000 in loans between November 2016 and August 2019.
To cover his tracks, Lu had instructed his administrative worker to describe the payments as entertainment expenses instead of loans.
"Lu knew that payments which were recorded as loans would be flagged out by NMCE's auditors. Specifically, they would ask when the loans could be recovered," said the DPP.
"In contrast, entertainment expenses were not meant to be recovered and were less likely to face scrutiny from auditors," he added.
Wong's case is pending before the courts.
Seeking a fine of at least $55,000, the prosecution said Lu has contributed to a serious risk of eroding confidence in Singapore's public administration.
He added that Lu was in a position to say no when Wong asked for the loans and had enough time to alert HDB to the latter's actions.
Lu's lawyer, Ms Jenny Tsin from WongPartnership, said her client did not initiate offering the loans and was pressured into giving them.

"(Lu) did not realise that he had broken the law until investigations were carried out. He promised never to make such a mistake again," she added.
Each offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act carries a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and a five-year jail term.
For instigating his worker to make a false entry, Lu could have been fined and jailed for up to 10 years.

 

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5 years' jail for ex-employee of gold trading firm who carried on business to defraud creditors​

Lim Hong Boon was sentenced to five years' jail after he was earlier convicted of an offence under the Companies Act. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent


MAR 4, 2022

SINGAPORE - He was working for gold trading company Genneva when the firm implemented an "inspection" exercise for customers to deposit their precious metal with it.
They were also promised that a similar quantity of gold would be returned to them three days later.
But the now-defunct firm started defaulting on the return of the gold bars and finally racked up more than $46 million in losses for customers who participated in the "gold inspection" exercise. Court documents did not disclose the number of affected customers.
In a statement on Friday (March 4), the police said that Lim Hong Boon, 44, used to be Genneva's head of transactions.
The court heard that he was in charge of the gold collection and subsequent disposition aspects of the exercise.
The Malaysian was on Friday sentenced to five years' jail after he was earlier convicted of an offence under the Companies Act.
Senior District Judge Bala Reddy had found him guilty of the offence after a trial.

Genneva was in the business of trading gold bars.
Among other things, it offered a buy-back scheme under a contract which promised customers monthly returns of between 2 per cent and 3.1 per cent of the price of the gold they bought from the firm.
According to court documents, Lim knew that Genneva was not in a position to return the gold within the stipulated time frame because it was facing financial difficulties at the time.

Despite this, Lim had carried on its business to defraud its victims between Aug 17 and Sept 30, 2012.
To date, the firm's former general manager Kwok Fong Loong, then 65, was sentenced to four years and eight months' jail in 2020 after he pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent trading.
In their submissions on Lim's case, Deputy Public Prosecutors Hon Yi and Norman Yew said that the firm was not profitable.
In an earlier court proceeding, the prosecutors told the judge: "When Genneva experienced financial problems, it decided to use its customers as a proverbial cash... cow.
"By dangling the bait of attractive returns to their customers, Genneva managed to entice a significant number of customers to renew their contracts, and in doing so, deposited their gold bars with Genneva for three days, initially."
The stated purpose was that the gold bars had to be inspected, thus earning the moniker of the "gold inspection" scheme or exercise.
The customers could then return after the stated period, where they would be given an equivalent quantity of gold.

The prosecutors said that by doing so, Genneva gained a "rolling stock of gold" which it used for its own purposes.
They added: "This, in itself, was wrong. Genneva was already in dire financial straits, and it was effectively borrowing gold from its customers for rolling three-day periods, thereby putting them at risk of losing their gold, should Genneva collapse."
The court heard that some "lucky" initial customers got back their gold, which came from the later customers.
But the prosecutors stressed that in over just a month, Genneva's financial situation went from bad to worse, and customers, who were deceived by the firm into leaving their gold with it, did not get back their promised precious metal.
The police said that Genneva collected about 3,500kg of gold during the exercise.
The police added: "Genneva did not conduct any test to ascertain the purity of the gold bars collected.
"Instead, the gold bars were sold, pawned or 'returned' to customers who had earlier handed over their gold as part of the... exercise."
The firm carried out the gold inspection exercise in the last months of its existence until the company ceased operations on Sept 30, 2012.

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department then raided its offices at Orchard Towers the next day.
Lim, who had returned to Malaysia by then, was later taken back to Singapore after a warrant of arrest was issued against him. He was charged with an offence under the Companies Act soon after.
In his defence, he had claimed that his involvement in the gold inspection exercise was minimal and that he did not intend to defraud customers.
The court heard on Friday that Lim intends to appeal against his sentence. He was then offered bail of $70,000.

 

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Company director jailed 11 years for misappropriating more than S$5 million from sale of gold bars​

File photo of gold bars. (Photo: iStock)

Davina Tham​

04 Mar 2022

SINGAPORE: A company director was on Friday (Mar 4) jailed 11 years for misappropriating more than S$5 million and cheating more than S$666,000 from multiple victims who ordered gold bars.
Nguyen Thi Thu Lan, 51, was the director of Hans Global and the “directing mind and will” of the company’s gold business, which involved supplying 1kg gold bars, stated court documents.
She was sentenced after pleading guilty to four counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property. Nine other charges were taken into consideration.
The Vietnamese national was uncooperative with police, and has not divulged the whereabouts of the gold bars and misappropriated money, according to the prosecution.
The court heard that Nguyen’s offences started in August 2018. YNK, a company dealing in gold, agreed to purchase 50 gold bars from her and transferred about S$2.5 million to Hans Global’s bank account for the purchase on Aug 30.
That same day, Nguyen dishonestly converted about S$960,000 of YNK’s payment to her own use. She drew on this sum to issue a cheque for S$980,000 to a man named Visvanathan Govindasamy.
Between September and December that year, she also used money paid by YNK for later and separate orders to fulfil the shortfall in gold bars that arose out of her misappropriation of the first payment.
In this way, she prevented YNK from discovering its payment had been misappropriated. The company received a refund of only S$7,000 in January 2019.
She committed similar offences against Singapore Island Resources. Around Sep 5, 2018, the company agreed to buy 53 gold bars from Nguyen and transferred more than S$2.6 million over the following days.
She used this money to purchase 50 gold bars, but these were never delivered to Singapore Island Resources.
When the company questioned her, Nguyen gave excuses, claiming that there was a delay as she needed to check each gold bar individually to ensure they were in good condition or that her supplier refused to release the gold bars as a minimum order quantity had not been met.
Singapore Island Resources was refunded only S$10,000 in January 2019.

NEW COMPANY, OLD RUSE​

In August 2018, Nguyen ceased the gold business due to the disapproval of her husband, who is co-director of Hans Global. She incorporated a new company, SJC Joint Venture, to carry out gold trading instead.
Nguyen’s 26-year-old stepson served as the sole director of SJC Joint Venture, but he took instructions from her and she ran the day-to-day operations of the company.
She ran a similar ruse in this new company, misappropriating more than S$1.2 million from four victims who bought gold bars from her.
Among them was Singapore Island Resources, which in December 2018 again paid almost S$320,000 for six gold bars that it never received.
Nguyen used S$220,000 from the payment to buy three gold bars, but they were never delivered to Singapore Island Resources.
When chased by them, she gave more excuses, such as being busy and the supplier’s vault only opening on certain days. The company did not receive any refunds for this purchase.
Another victim was ORO Trading, which paid more than S$530,000 for 10 gold bars in December 2018.
Nguyen bought nine gold bars with this money, but they were never delivered to ORO Trading. The company received only S$10,000 in refunds in January 2019.
When asked about the delay, she again gave excuses, claiming that she was wrongly supplied with many “small 1gr bars” of gold.

FORGED CERTIFICATES​

Nguyen also cheated the director of JAJ, a company dealing with gold, and the director’s husband of more than S$666,000.
In January 2019, Nguyen’s acquaintance conveyed to her a request from a manager of JAJ indicating that the company wanted to buy gold bars from SJC but wanted assurance they would be able to deliver the gold.
Over WhatsApp, she replied with images that purported to be a “World Renowned Mints and Refineries Certificate for Agent Distributor” and an “ABC Refinery Certificate of Ownership” for ownership of 20,000 gold bars.
These certificates were forgeries created by Nguyen.
Relying on the certificate of ownership, JAJ paid S$666,000 for 12 gold bars in January 2019. At Nguyen’s instruction, the money was deposited into a bank account belonging to another gold supplier. The deposit was reflected in Nguyen’s personal account with the supplier.
By then, Nguyen already owed more than S$4.8 million worth of gold bars to various customers and was being hounded by them.
She used the money deposited by JAJ to buy 11 gold bars from the gold supplier, which she distributed to Singapore Island Resources, YNK and ORO Trading.
She also attempted to mask her misappropriation of JAJ’s payment by writing the company cheques for the sum, which were dishonoured for lack of funds, and saying her company could not obtain registration for the gold bars.

BLAMED IT ON HER STEPSON​

Nguyen was arrested on May 22, 2019.
She blamed her stepson for the misappropriations, making false claims such as that he threatened to kill Nguyen and her family in order to coerce her into handing over JAJ’s gold bars to other parties.
In sentencing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Gerald Tan noted that Nguyen was a “persistent and sustained offender” who claimed eight victims in 17 months and took a “startlingly large” sum of money from them.
The offences were premeditated, as demonstrated by the forgery of certificates required to cheat the director of JAJ, he said.
Nguyen also took several steps to evade detection, such as using payments for later orders to fulfil earlier shortfalls, and fabricating falsehoods, said Mr Tan.
In mitigation, defence lawyer David Marc Lee said Nguyen never intended to misappropriate the money but tried to fulfil every order possible until her arrest, and that it was “a case of terrible mismanagement” on her part.
The prosecution responded by saying that the victims suffered “staggering losses”, and questioned the extent to which Nguyen did try to fulfil the gold bar orders.
In sentencing, District Judge Ong Hian Sun said a deterrent sentence was necessary to send a message to the accused and other like-minded offenders.

 

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Jail, cane for man who robbed pawn shop to repay gambling debt, only to gamble it away again​

Osmond Chia

Mar 8, 2022

SINGAPORE - Left with only $3 after gambling his money away, a Malaysian man robbed a pawn shop to repay a $50,000 debt owed to friends and unlicensed loan sharks.
He threatened staff at knife-point and stole cash and items worth about$35,000, before heading toa casino where he gambled a large sum away.
Lim Cheng Siang,46, an S pass holder at the time who worked as a general foreman dealing with lift maintenance, was arrested after an extensive manhunt led by the police.
On Tuesday (March 8), Lim pleaded guilty to robbery and was jailed for two and a half years and given six strokes of the cane.
The court heard that Lim, who has been working here since 2004, had a gambling addiction and was saddled with a debt of $50,000 since December 2020.
He had to repay up to $5,000 to his creditors each month despite earning only about$2,900 monthly, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Lu Jia.
On Sept 1 last year, Lim withdrew all his salary to gamble at the Marina Bay Sands Casino. He lost almost all of it and was left with just $3.

With no means to repay his creditors, he armed himself with a fruit knife the next day and headed to Marsiling at around 5pm to rob Shing Heng Group Pawn Shop.
He pretended to be interested in buying a gold bracelet and a gold chain - worth around $10,750 - and waited till the other customers had left the shop.
He then showed a sales assistant a handwritten note in Mandarin which said: "Do not shout. I only want money. I have a knife with me. I do not want to hurt anyone."

The woman was alarmed as Lim grabbed the chain and bracelet from the display tray and then took out his knife saying "money, money".
The woman screamed and ran to the office area behind the door to her colleagues. Lim hopped over the counter to prevent the door from closing and entered the office, demanding money.
Another sales assistant handed him stacks of cash until Lim was satisfied and left.
After the robbery, Lim headed to work to assign his workers with tasks, before heading to Marina Bay Sands Casino once again to gamble.
The staff at the pawn shop pressed a panic button which alerted the police after Lim left. It was calculated that he took $34,975 worth of cash and goods.

DPP Teo said about 20 police officers were involved in a manhunt for Lim, whose identity was established by analysing the fingerprints that he left on his note.
Lim was arrested the next morning - on Sept 3, 2021 - at his rental flat in Sembawang, where they seized items including $4,474 in stolen cash, the stolen jewellery and his knife.
DPP Teo said Lim spent $19,754 on food, taxi fare and gambling. He also handed some money to his creditors and ex-girlfriend.
The money robbed was significant and no restitution has been made, although some money was recovered, said DPP Teo.
The offence was also brazenly committed and difficult to detect, causing the police to use significant resources to trace Lim, she added.
The judge took the prosecution's sentencing position and backdated Lim's jail term to Sept 3, 2021.
For committing robbery, he could have been jailed up to 10 years and six strokes of the cane.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Sex worker jailed after making police report, falsely accusing man of suspected rape​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Mar 10, 2022

SINGAPORE - A Chinese national who came to Singapore and became a sex worker made a police report, falsely accusing a man of suspected rape as she wanted the authorities to launch an investigation on him.
On Thursday (March 10), Guo Lili, 27, was sentenced to five months and four weeks' jail.
She had pleaded guilty to one count each of giving false information to a public servant and overstaying. She also admitted to an offence linked to her vice-related activities.
Guo arrived in Singapore on April 14, 2019. Her pimp, known only as "Wen Dong", then helped her with housing and advertised her sexual services online.
She started serving clients soon after and was arrested about three months later.
After that, Guo was placed on a special pass and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told her that she had to leave Singapore by Dec 25, 2020.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yvonne Poon said: "The accused booked a flight for (Dec 24, 2020) and showed the ticket to the (ICA) officer as required. However, as she did not have the intention to leave Singapore, she cancelled her flight without reasonable cause. She overstayed and asked Wen Dong for help."

Wen Dong then got her to move into a flat in Balestier Road, which was leased out by a man who she later accused of suspected rape.
The court heard that the man managed a number of properties which he leased out to other vice workers. Guo had to pay him $160 in rent every day.
She was overstaying by the time she completed serving one of her clients at around 10pm on Feb 18 last year.


Around that time, the man had been harassing several sex workers at the properties he managed in a bid to get them to provide sexual services to him.
Wen Dong and Guo then hatched a plan to get him in trouble.
At around 11.30pm, the man and one of Guo's female friends went to Guo's flat for a meal and drink some alcohol.
The man took a shower after the friend left at around 2am the next day. Guo then undressed and lay down on a bed.
When she woke up about four hours later, she saw that the man was in the nude and was resting beside her.
The DPP said: "Despite knowing that they had not had sexual intercourse, the accused called the police and falsely reported that she suspected she had been raped."

An investigation officer later interviewed Guo. At around 9.30am that day, she finally came clean about what she had done after realising that she would have to undergo medical checks.
But she was unable to provide any information that could lead to Wen Dong's identity.
Guo was later charged in court but continued to provide sexual services when she was out on bail.
Acting on a tip-off, police raided a Geylang hotel on Nov 9 last year and found her in one of the rooms.
She had used a mobile phone and website advertisements to secure her clients, the court heard.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Jail and caning for ex-security officer who raped drunk colleague, boasted to friend that he 'did it' 3 times​

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

Mar 11, 2022

SINGAPORE - A security officer carried a female colleague up to his flat and raped her multiple times, after she passed out drunk while they were hanging out at the void deck of his block.
The 24-year-old Malaysian sent a photo of the unconscious woman to his friend and boasted that he "did it" with her three times.
The victim, a 27-year-old Malaysian, was so traumatised by the incident that she was warded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for three months.
On Friday (March 11), the man was sentenced to 15 years' jail and ordered to be given 20 strokes of the cane by the High Court after he pleaded guilty to one charge each of rape, sexual assault by penetration, and distribution of a voyeuristic image.
He also pleaded guilty to two other charges of insulting the modesty of a different victim, a 39-year-old Singaporean woman, by surreptitiously taking videos of her while she was showering.
He did this when he stayed at her home.
Another 20 charges, including two for raping the younger woman and 18 for filming the older woman, were taken into consideration.

He cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the identities of the victims. The Straits Times understands that he has lost his job.
The High Court heard that the accused and rape victim got to know each other at work and occasionally chatted on messaging apps after he asked for her number.
On the night of June 21, 2020, they met at the void deck of his flat, sitting at a round table as they chatted and had alcoholic drinks.

After she passed out, he recorded six video clips on his mobile phone of her in a severely intoxicated state and covered in her own vomit.
He carried her back to his flat, pulled down her underwear and took a photo of her, which he sent to his friend.
Between 1am and 9.40am on June 22, he raped her three times and carried out other sexual acts, as she remained unconscious.
After the third rape, he sent a message to his friend to say that he "did it" three times.
The woman was shocked when she woke up to find herself naked with the accused next to her on the bed.

When she asked if he had done anything to her, he showed her the videos of her in a drunken state at the void deck.
As she looked at the videos, she realised that he had sent a photo of her to his friend.
Mortified, she deleted the videos, photos and messages, as well as her contact number, from his phone.
She got dressed and left the flat, accompanied by the man, who booked a Grab ride for her.
Initially, she did not lodge a police report as she felt scared and insecure, and was unfamiliar with the investigative procedures in Singapore.
A month later, on July 21, she told a friend, a 40-year-old Singaporean man, who called the police. The accused was arrested on the same day.
Following the incident, she was admitted to the IMH with suicidal ideation and diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yang Ziliang told the court that the accused's actions continue to have an impact on the woman.
"She feels that all men are bad, and fears that she 'will not be able to find someone who truly loves (her) in the future because nobody can accept somebody with a past like this'," he said, citing her victim impact statement.
In the course of police investigations, a total of 18 videos and nine photos of the other victim, taken between Nov 27, 2018 and Dec 18, 2019, were found on the accused's phone.
He admitted that he filmed her via a hole at the bottom of a toilet door and had sent the videos to the same friend.
His assigned lawyer, Mr Gregory Fong, noted that he was a young offender and was remorseful for his actions.
Mr Fong said his client had a crush on the victim and committed the offences at the spur of the moment as he had also consumed alcohol.
"His judgment was clouded when he crossed the Rubicon and decided to give in to his lust," added the lawyer.