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[GeneralHavoc]

Man gets six years' jail for 1989 gang robbery

Published 4 hours ago

Malaysian fugitive, who was extradited here last year, robbed car dealership with 4 others

Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

A 54-year-old Malaysian man who took part in a gang robbery at a second-hand car dealership nearly 30 years ago was jailed for six years yesterday.

Thoo Ing Lai, who is self-employed, was 27 at the time of the 1989 gang robbery. Four people at Eng Chee Trading Company were blindfolded, gagged and bound, with cash and items totalling $29,000 taken from them.

Thoo admitted to two gang robbery charges, with three other charges taken into consideration. He was arrested in Malaysia last year and extradited here on April 17 last year.

A district court heard that Thoo and one of his accomplices had entered the premises of the car dealership at Hokkien Kong Huay Building, in Upper Bukit Timah Road, on March 2, 1989. They told Mr Ang Tek Hing, a partner and manager of the firm, that they wanted to buy a Mazda car.

While they were negotiating, three other accomplices came in and said they were friends of the two men.

Shortly later, the first accomplice gave the command for the robbery to commence.

He took an object which appeared to be a short-barrel revolver and pointed it at Mr Ang, demanding that he unlock the safe. One of the robbers then took away the cash in the safe.

Mr Ang's younger brother, Mr Ang Teio Waet, had cash and property amounting to $10,046 taken from him. A staff member was also robbed of cash.

The older Mr Ang resisted when the first accomplice tried to take his gold chain and was hit on the head.

Thoo approached the Angs' pregnant niece, blindfolded and bound her before removing her gold chain worth $360.

The five fled in their car and left for Johor Baru. The four unknown men are still at large.

In mitigation, Thoo's lawyer Lim Poh Choo said her client was living in Johor Baru with his girlfriend in 1989 when he met the other men at a gambling den.

On learning that he spoke Hokkien, they told Thoo that they wished to buy a car in Singapore and needed his help to negotiate the price.

They offered him $300 and Thoo agreed to accompany the men to Singapore.

The lawyer said her client, who has been in ill health in recent years, was deeply regretful over the robbery and had unwittingly been a part of it.

He did not profit from the robbery and was a victim of circumstance, she added.

The maximum penalty for gang robbery is 20 years' jail and caning of at least 12 strokes.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Man gets six years' jail for 1989 gang robbery

Published Aug 20, 2016, 5:00 am SGT

Malaysian fugitive, who was extradited here last year, robbed car dealership with 4 others

Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

A 54-year-old Malaysian man who took part in a gang robbery at a second-hand car dealership nearly 30 years ago was jailed for six years yesterday.

Thoo Ing Lai, who is self-employed, was 27 at the time of the 1989 gang robbery. Four people at Eng Chee Trading Company were blindfolded, gagged and bound, with cash and items totalling $29,000 taken from them.

Thoo admitted to two gang robbery charges, with three other charges taken into consideration. He was arrested in Malaysia last year and extradited here on April 17 last year.

A district court heard that Thoo and one of his accomplices had entered the premises of the car dealership at Hokkien Kong Huay Building, in Upper Bukit Timah Road, on March 2, 1989. They told Mr Ang Tek Hing, a partner and manager of the firm, that they wanted to buy a Mazda car.

While they were negotiating, three other accomplices came in and said they were friends of the two men.

Shortly later, the first accomplice gave the command for the robbery to commence.

He took an object which appeared to be a short-barrel revolver and pointed it at Mr Ang, demanding that he unlock the safe. One of the robbers then took away the cash in the safe.

Mr Ang's younger brother, Mr Ang Teio Waet, had cash and property amounting to $10,046 taken from him. A staff member was also robbed of cash.

The older Mr Ang resisted when the first accomplice tried to take his gold chain and was hit on the head.

Thoo approached the Angs' pregnant niece, blindfolded and bound her before removing her gold chain worth $360.

The five fled in their car and left for Johor Baru. The four unknown men are still at large.

In mitigation, Thoo's lawyer Lim Poh Choo said her client was living in Johor Baru with his girlfriend in 1989 when he met the other men at a gambling den.

On learning that he spoke Hokkien, they told Thoo that they wished to buy a car in Singapore and needed his help to negotiate the price.

They offered him $300 and Thoo agreed to accompany the men to Singapore.

The lawyer said her client, who has been in ill health in recent years, was deeply regretful over the robbery and had unwittingly been a part of it.

He did not profit from the robbery and was a victim of circumstance, she added.

The maximum penalty for gang robbery is 20 years' jail and caning of at least 12 strokes.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Hairstylist jailed 5 days for assaulting flight stewardess on board tigerair plane

Chong Nyok Kiew, a hairstylist, was jailed for five days after assaulting a flight stewardess on board a Tiger Airways plane in February.

Published Aug 24, 2016, 3:06 pm SGT
Amir Hussain

SINGAPORE - A 57-year-old hairstylist who assaulted a flight stewardess on board a tigerair plane in February was jailed for five days on Wednesday (Aug 24).

Chong Nyok Kiew, a Malaysian, pleaded guilty to one charge of causing hurt.

A district court heard that Chong flew from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Singapore on Feb 23.

Before the flight departed, stewardess Veronica Siau Yen Ting, 26, told passengers seated in two rows that she had placed a pair of crutches belonging to a passenger in the overhead compartment in their area.

Ms Siau also told the passengers to be careful when using the overhead compartment.

After the flight landed at Changi Airport, passengers opened the overhead compartments to retrieve their belongings.

But one passenger caused one of the crutches to fall onto Chong, and she began complaining loudly about the incident.

She kept repeating loudly, in Mandarin, that she "wanted to know how the cabin crew would answer for this" and that "sorry was no cure", the court heard.

Shortly afterwards, Ms Siau went to get the crutches to return them to their owner. She also apologised to Chong.

Later, as passengers were walking out of the plane, Chong went up to Ms Siau and demanded that the flight stewardess explain why the crutch had fallen on her. Chong also demanded compensation.

Ms Siau told Chong to move aside to allow other passengers to get out of the plane. However, Chong continued to block the passage and prevent others from leaving the aircraft.

Ms Siau apologised to Chong again and asked her to calm down. But Chong responded by punching Ms Siau once each on her left cheek and her shoulder.

The flight stewardess then told the pilot to call the police, while another Tiger Airways staff prevented Chong from leaving the plane.

While waiting for policemen to arrive, Chong kept saying: "I hit a person and you call the police. Something hit my head, nothing happens. Now, I punch her, it's fair."

In mitigation, Chong's pro-bono lawyer Noor Mohamed Marican told the court that she had a string of medical conditions.

She has morbid obesity, with a body mass index of 48.5, hypertension, osteoarthritis and a weak bladder.

Chong is also unable to squat or kneel, and she cannot stand and walk for prolonged periods.

As a result of her medical problems, she is now unemployed.

The lawyer asked that she be spared a jail term.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Chong could have been jailed for two years and fined $5,000.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Aircraft technician who stabbed wife's lover sentenced to 28 months' jail, 3 strokes of cane

Published Aug 26, 2016, 12:57 am SGT
Ng Huiwen

SINGAPORE - A 41-year-old aircraft technician, overcome with rage when his wife moved in with a younger man, met the pair - then stabbed his love rival with a metal file that he had sharpened in his workplace.

Chinese national Chen Jianghong was sentenced to 28 months in jail and three strokes of the cane on Thursday (Aug 25) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt in November last year.

His victim, 31-year-old Deng Yiwei, spent five days in hospital being treated for multiple wounds to his chest and abdomen, and cuts on his arm.

Chen's 31-year-old wife, Chinese national Huang Dan, moved out of their apartment to live with her lover last April, after they began having problems with their marriage.

The court heard that when he met Mr Deng last October, he told him in Mandarin that "the hatred on the person who steals your wife will not allow you and that person to exist together".

Chen later bought a 15cm-long metal file at a hardware shop when he could not find knives for sale. He used a grinder to sharpen it at his workplace.

About a month later, he met his wife and Mr Deng in Woodlands Avenue 6, taking with him the sharpened metal file.

Chen chased Mr Deng to a nearby badminton court before stabbing him several times.

Asking for at least 30 months' jail and caning, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan David Lim told the court that Chen had "ample time to consider and think of how to carry out the act" as he had bought and sharpened the file a month before the crime.

He added that the wounds suffered by the victim were "fairly serious".

In mitigation, Chen's lawyer Foo Ho Chew said that his client had "suffered the anguish of his wife's infidelity".

He said that Chen has two young children from the same relationship and elderly parents to care for back in China.

The lawyer added that Mr Deng has since forgiven Chen.

However, the prosecution argued that the act of forgiveness should not have an effect on the sentence.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon, Chen could have been jailed for life, fined or caned.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Trio lifted casino chips worth over $100k with 'sticky palms'

Published 49 min ago
Selina Lum

Using a simple trick of sticking double-sided adhesive tape on their palms, a trio from China stole more than $100,000 worth of chips from patrons at the casinos in Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

After their three-week theft spree, two of them - Zhou Haiming, 41, and Luo Jianguo, 37 - left for China but returned to Singapore 11 days later with the intention of lining their pockets again.

The pair were arrested while trying to enter the MBS casino. Several pieces of ready-cut double-sided tape were found on them.

Zhou and Luo were initially sentenced to 18 months' jail by a district court in May after each pleaded guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy to commit theft and one of removing criminal proceeds.

But yesterday, the High Court increased their respective sentences to two years' jail after an appeal by the prosecution.

The pair's appeals for lighter sentences were dismissed.

The third member of their team, Huang Xiaomei, remains at large.

The court heard that Zhou and Luo, who are from Jiangxi province in China, were told by a friend that he knew someone - Huang - who "earns a lot of money at the casino in Singapore". Huang later contacted Luo through messaging app WeChat.

Zhou and Luo arrived in Singapore on social visit passes on Sept 18 last year.

Three days later, they met Huang at the MBS casino, where she told them they could make money by stealing casino chips.

Back at her rented place, Huang taught them how to pick up chips using double-sided tape stuck on their palms.

Between Sept 21 and Oct 12 last year, the trio worked together, with one person "palming" the chips while the others distracted the dealer and the victim.

To avoid getting caught, they targeted patrons who placed large bets using a whole stack of chips.

The trio had a success rate of 95 per cent.

The thefts of $100,225 worth of chips, on 284 different occasions, were not detected. Neither were another 13 occasions of attempted theft.

They stole from more than 60 casino patrons.

Zhou and Luo gave Huang 20 per cent of the value of their loot.

When the duo returned to China on Oct 13 last year, Zhou had about $1,000 and 6,800 yuan (S$1,380) with him while Luo was carrying 4,500 yuan.

They returned to Singapore on Oct 24 and were arrested on the same day.

The prosecution argued in its appeal that 18 months was manifestly inadequate to signal to recruiters in foreign countries that Singapore is not a "soft target", and to reflect that the serial thefts were well- planned and skilfully executed .

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Man who blackmailed ex-lover has jail term doubled on appeal

Published 52 min ago

Bangladeshi threatened ex-lover by sending sex videos to her husband and teenage daughter

Selina Lum

A "dishonourable and deplorable" Bangladeshi man who filmed himself having sex with a married housewife and then threatened to send the explicit video clip to her friends and family had his original jail term more than doubled yesterday from five months to 11 months.

In allowing the prosecution's appeal for a heavier sentence of between 10 and 12 months, Judge of Appeal Tay Yong Kwang reproached the 42-year-old man for his actions, describing him as "manipulative and vengeful".

Noting that the defence had portrayed the accused as a lovesick man who could not move on from his failed relationship with the woman, Justice Tay said that describing him as a pitiful lovelorn man "is to make a mockery out of what love is meant to be".

The judge noted that the man, who sent the video to the woman's husband and 18-year-old daughter, wanted to cause her "maximum embarrassment" and to "distress and destroy" her family.

Neither he nor the woman can be named due to a gag order.

In May, the man pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal intimidation for threatening the 38-year-old woman between March 27 and April 4 this year.

The pair had been in an intermittent relationship from around 2007 to 2013. The man, a machine operator, had approached the housewife at an MRT station and introduced himself.

They broke up in 2014 and he went back to Bangladesh.

He returned to Singapore early last year and tried to resume their relationship but she refused.

He then told her he had multiple video clips of them having sex and the contact details of her family and neighbours. He sent her screenshots to substantiate his claims, demanding that she meet him before he would allow her to delete the video clips from his mobile phone.

The woman had sex with the man multiple times in a bid to have the video clips deleted. But he did not keep his end of the bargain.

On Jan 28, while they were having sex, he surreptitiously filmed the act using his mobile phone.

From March 28 to April 6, as the complainant began ignoring him, he sent several messages to her over WhatsApp, threatening to send the video clip to her friends, family and "all of Singapore".

The prosecution appealed against the man's original sentence, arguing that his persistent threats were aimed at "extracting the largest pound of flesh" from the woman.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

2 Bangladeshi workers detained under ISA sentenced to 2 and 2½ years' jail for financing terrorism

Mamun Leakot Ali, 30 (left), was the group's deputy leader, while Zzaman Daulat, 34, was in the group's security council. PHOTOS: MHA

Published Aug 30, 2016, 4:03 pm SGT
Danson Cheong

SINGAPORE - Two Bangladeshi workers detained in April under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on Tuesday (Aug 30) were convicted and sentenced to 2 and 2½ years jail for financing terrorism. They had pleaded guilty earlier on Tuesday.

Mamun Leakot Ali, 30, was sentenced to 2½ years' jail, while Zzaman Daulat, 34, was sentenced to 2 years' jail.

They were part of a group of six workers who were charged under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act in May.

Mamun and Zzaman had initially claimed trial. The other four pleaded guilty and were jailed between two and five years last month.

Lawyers Noor Marican and Ramesh Tiwary represented both men pro bono.

Addressing the court, Mr Marican said both men were deeply apologetic to the people of Singapore for causing fear and harm through their actions.

Pleading for a more lenient sentence, Mr Marican added that both men had committed their crimes in a moment of foolishness, and were now deeply ashamed for bringing down the repute of Islam and other Muslims.

Speaking for both men, Mr Marican said: "He is a Muslim, he believes in Islam, and he realises that these are not teachings of his religion... It is not the way of Islam."

The group called themselves the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB) and were collecting or providing money to fund terrorist attacks back home.

Their goal was to topple their government, set up an Islamic state and bring it under the self-declared caliphate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The authorities found in their possession a list of targets and bomb-making manuals.

Two other ISB men were also detained in April - they have been given two-year detention orders under the ISA and have not faced formal charges in court.

Court documents show the men had clearly defined roles.

Mamun was the group's deputy leader, while Zzaman was in the group's security council.

They were led by ringleader Rahman Mizanur, 31, who got the heaviest sentence of five years' jail.

Miah Rubel, 26, and Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar, 31, acted as the group's treasurers, and received 2½ years' jail.

Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader, 29, donated $300 to the cause, and was given two years' jail.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

7 men arrested for trying to swim into Singapore

SINGAPORE - Seven men were arrested for attempting to gain unlawful entry into Singapore on Aug 31, police said in a statement.

Two men were first discovered swimming towards the Republic at the sea off Woodlands Checkpoint at about 2.10am. The Police Coast Guard (PCG) arrested the swimmers, aged 31 and 36 at around 2.25am.

Later that morning, five other men were detected to be swimming in the sea off Gedong. The men, aged between 19 and 32, were arrested at about 3.10am.

[email protected]

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Maid jailed 10 months for assaulting woman, 96

Elena Chong
Tuesday, Sep 6, 2016

A foreign domestic worker who took it out on a sickly 96-year-old woman by assaulting her repeatedly was jailed for 10 months yesterday.

Indonesian Murni Panengsih, 25, had admitted to five of 15 charges of causing hurt to her employer's bedridden mother, who had illnesses such as diabetes and displayed signs of dementia.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Dora Tay said the victim's daughter confronted the maid in September last year after viewing closed-circuit television footage showing the maid hitting her mother in their home in the Lavender district.

She lodged a police report on Sept 18.

The maid, who had worked for the family since December 2013, was reprimanded once in July 2014 for hitting the victim's head.

The victim's daughter had noticed some bruises on her mother before September, and the victim mentioned "somebody was trying to kill her".

But she thought the victim might have imagined things as the maid had been doing a good job of looking after the victim.

She thought the maid liked the victim.

The maid told police that she had been abusing the victim since May 2014 to vent her frustration.

"The accused was never ill-treated or threatened by the victim or her employers during her employment,'' said DPP Tay.

On Aug 15 last year, the maid was feeding the victim water when she used the water bottle to hit her on her lips.

She pressed the victim's head hard to stop her from moving her head.

When the victim tried to touch her own lips after being hit, the maid flicked her hands away.

While feeding her, she slapped the victim on the face and pressed her head into her pillow.

Two days later, while feeding the victim, the maid suddenly knelt next to her charge and grabbed her ears and head, throwing her head onto the pillow a few times.

She struck her on the face a few times.

On Sept 17 last year, she hit the victim's head repeatedly with her elbow. A minute later, she shook the victim's head and pulled her forcefully by the head towards her.

Diana Ngiam, the maid's lawyer who was assigned by the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, said psychiatrist John Bosco Lee, who assessed the maid for free, had diagnosed her with adjustment disorder and stated that her mental illness contributed significantly to her offences.

She said Murni, who has a child, had a very difficult job of caring for an elderly patient with many problems.

But she said it was no excuse for her to have reacted the way she did.

The maid also wrote a letter expressing her regret and sought forgiveness for her mistakes.

District Judge Low Wee Ping said what was most disconcerting in the case was the victim's advanced age.

Such elderly victims, he added, are unable to comprehend or articulate their distress when domestic workers inflict harm on them.

The maid could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000 per charge.

[email protected]

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Driver in robbery gets jail and cane

Published 3 hours ago

He drove four men to rob money changer of $24k, two cellphones in Woodlands in 2010

Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

A man who drove four others in a car to rob a money changer of more than $20,000 was sentenced to 21/2 years in jail and six strokes of the cane yesterday.

Malaysian crane operator Elanggovan Gopalan, 34, had pleaded guilty to robbing Mr Chang Lai Huat, 60, of $24,000 and two mobile phones worth $500 with his compatriot Vijajathevan Kanniy, 34, and three other unknown men at Woodlands Civic Centre on May 31, 2010.

The four are still at large.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Prakash Otharam said Elanggovan met Vijajathevan in Woodlands Centre Road that day.

Vijajathevan told Elanggovan about a "job" and asked him to drive a car to be used in a robbery.

He handed him the key to a Malaysian-registered Proton Wira and told him to wait for instructions.

A few minutes later, Elanggovan received a call asking him to pick up Vijajathevan near Marsiling MRT station. When he arrived, three other men hopped into the car as well. He drove the group to Woodlands Square, where the four alighted.

Mr Chang, a Malaysian, was about to enter Woodlands Civic Centre when one of the men grabbed his neck while two others held his hands. They dragged him into the back seat of the car.

There, one or more of the men punched him in his face a few times. Another covered his head with a dark shirt and pushed his head down.

They took his cash and mobile phones, and pushed him out of the car a few minutes later.

In mitigation, Elanggovan's lawyer N. Kanagavijayan said his client had no idea before May 31, 2010 that Vijajathevan wanted to commit a robbery. Neither did he know that three more men were involved.

He said at all times, his client played a minor and subordinate role in the robbery, and deeply regretted taking part in the robbery.

He said at no time did Elanggovan assault or confront the victim.

Elanggovan's sentence was backdated to his remand on Aug 5 last year. He could have been jailed for up to 10 years on top of the minimum six strokes of the cane.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Construction worker jailed 4 weeks for touching woman's thigh on MRT train

Construction worker Murugaiyan Kaviarasu was jailed for four weeks for molesting a 27-year-old woman on an MRT train in August.

Published Sep 9, 2016, 4:52 pm SGT
Amir Hussain

SINGAPORE - A 45-year-old construction worker who molested a 27-year-old woman on an MRT train in August was on Friday (Sept 9) jailed for four weeks.

Murugaiyan Kaviarasu pleaded guilty to one charge of outrage of modesty.

A district court heard that the victim boarded the train at Yew Tee MRT station at about 4.40pm on Aug 13.

One stop later, at Choa Chu Kang MRT station, Kaviarasu, an Indian national, boarded the train and sat to the right of the victim, though the train cabin was fairly empty.

He then leaned towards the victim, such that his left shoulder touched her right shoulder.

The victim moved away from him, but that did not deter Kaviarasu, who moved closer towards her.

He placed his left arm by his side and leaned towards her again, before using the back of his left hand to brush against her right thigh several times.

The victim stared at Kaviarasu, who then placed his hands on his haversack on his lap.

Shortly after, the victim heard a female passenger sitting opposite her remark that the molester was moving his hand towards her again.

The victim stared at Kaviarasu again and he placed his hands back on his haversack.

As the train was approaching Jurong East MRT station, the molester again placed his left arm by his side and tried to touch the victim's thigh but did not manage to do so.

Kaviarasu then alighted at Jurong East MRT station, but the victim grabbed his haversack and prevented him from leaving the train platform. She called the police.

Kaviarasu repeatedly said "sorry" to the victim.

In mitigation, the construction worker told the court that he had been working in Singapore for eight years with a clean record.

He said he had a few drinks at a party before taking the train, and was too intoxicated to remember his actions. He added that he is the sole breadwinner of his family, with two children and elderly parents to care for.

Kaviarasu's sentence was backdated to the date of his remand on Aug 15.

For using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a person, he could have been jailed for two years and fined and caned.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Jail for maid seen on video abusing child

Filipino domestic worker Jean Calma Cornel abuses her employer's three year old daughter.

Published 3 hours ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

The mother of a child did not suspect anything when she found frequent bruising on her young daughter's face, neck and legs until someone told her she had seen a video of her Filipino maid slapping the child several times.

The video was taken discreetly by another Filipino domestic worker, whose advice to Christy Jean Calma Cornel not to mistreat the child fell on deaf ears.

On several occasions, Cornel, 32, took her employer's three-year- old daughter to visit the 33-year- old Filipina, Ms Marietta Tagora Aslor, who worked nearby.

Yesterday, Cornel was jailed for four months for slapping the girl, strangling her and pulling her hair, as well as hitting her with an umbrella. A third charge of lifting the child off the floor momentarily to pinch her cheeks was taken into consideration.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hairul Hakkim said that since Cornel had started work in March last year, her 46-year-old employer had found bruises on the child's face, neck and legs.

She thought her daughter had hurt herself while playing.

The truth came out in June this year when a resident in her neighbourhood said she had seen a video of Cornel slapping the girl's face several times.

The court heard that Cornel and the girl were in the other Filipino maid's room on May 17 when she abused the child for crying and not stopping. On June 18, Cornel hit her with an umbrella when she refused to put on her slippers.

After watching the video clips shown in open court yesterday, Cornel, with her head bowed, said through a Tagalog interpreter that she realised what she had done was "so painful" because she was a mother herself.

"Precisely," said Judge Hamidah Ibrahim, and asked how old her children were.

Cornel, a widow of eight years, said they were 11 and nine, and agreed with the judge that she would not want them to be hurt.

The judge said it was fortuitous that there appeared to be no physical injuries to the child or the sentence would have been much higher.

"And while you have pleaded guilty, it would appear that the evidence is overwhelming against you," said the judge, who backdated her sentence to July 13.

Pleading for a second chance, Cornel wrote in her mitigation letter that she was a sole breadwinner, would not repeat her mistake, was sorry and prayed the family would forgive her.

She could have been fined up to $4,000 and/or jailed for up to four years on each charge of ill-treating a child.

 

[khunking]

A 24-year-old yoga instructor from India allegedly molested a student thrice

SINGAPORE - A 24-year-old yoga instructor from India allegedly molested a student thrice during a lesson last year.

Rakesh Kumar Prasad purportedly cupped and pinched the victim's breast while she was doing yoga poses as instructed at the Real Yoga studio in Tampines Grande.

He even tried to squeeze her breast after slipping his hand into her sports bra, a district court heard. When she protested, Rakesh allegedly smiled and told her: "It's not like there's anything to touch".


On Wednesday (Sept 21), the victim, who is now 26, took the witness stand on the first day of Rakesh's trial. He faces one charge of outrage of modesty and one count of using criminal force.

The court heard that the victim went for a yoga class scheduled for 12.30pm on April 26 last year. She was the only student at the session, instructed by Rakesh.

According to his profile on Real Yoga's website, Rakesh has more than eight years of yoga teaching experience. He was trained and certified as a yoga instructor in Kolkata.

During the lesson, Rakesh, then 23, told the victim to adopt a forward bending pose, while seated on the floor with her legs outstretched. She was supposed to get her chest to touch her thighs.

But barely 13 minutes after her yoga session started, Rakesh cupped her left breast with his left hand, she told the court. She hit his hand and told him not to touch her breasts. But undeterred, he pinched her breast and told her to bend lower, threatening to pinch her even harder if she did not do as told, she said.

Just eight minutes later, while she was in the same yoga pose, Rakesh molested her again. When the student objected, the instructor admonished her for shouting, she said.

Three minutes later, the victim was told to spread her legs while sitting and get her chest to touch the floor. While she was trying to adopt that yoga position, Rakesh slipped his left hand into the left side of her sports bra and tried to squeeze her breast, but she knocked his arm away.
After the yoga class ended at about 1.30pm, Rakesh sat in front of the victim. He smiled at her and asked why he could not touch her breasts. He also said: "It's not like there's anything to touch."

Later, as the victim was leaving the yoga studio, Rakesh grabbed the back of her neck, she said.

Video footage of the incidents, captured on closed-circuit television, were also played in court.

During her cross-examination, defence lawyer Genesis Shen repeatedly asked the victim why she did not seek help immediately after being molested. He also asked her if her actions were consistent with "how a molest victim would react".

The victim reiterated that she was alone, and did not know any studio staff. Tearing, she added: "I was helpless, what did you expect me to do?"

The trial continues on Thursday (Sept 22) with a studio receptionist and the police investigation officer taking the stand.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz is prosecuting the case before District Judge Luke Tan.

The maximum penalty for molestation is two years' jail, a fine and caning; and for using criminal force, three months' jail and a $1,500 fine.

 

[khunking]

Man jailed 12 years for stabbing lover to death

SINGAPORE - A hairstylist decided to kill his lover of eight years after the latter avoided his calls and told him he was "not gay" when his parents found out about their same-sex relationship and expressed their disapproval.


Tan Chee Yeow, 40, was on Monday (Sept 26) sentenced to 12 years' jail after he pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide.


He admitted stabbing to death Mr Tan Chin Siong, 48, an assistant vice-president at a local bank, at a walkway near Ang Mo Kio MRT station at about 8am on Sept 4 last year.


Both men, who are Malaysians, met in Johor Baru in 2007 and started a romantic relationship, the High Court heard on Monday. That year, the accused moved to Singapore after Mr Tan told him to do so.


However, the relationship went downhill about three years before the incident.




The accused wanted to be publicly recognised as Mr Tan's partner, but Mr Tan wanted to keep their relationship low-profile and kept it from his parents. The accused, who has a drinking habit, had also threatened to commit suicide several times.


Things came to a head on Aug 28 last year - Mr Tan's birthday - when the accused threw a tantrum and nagged at his lover for reneging on his promise to introduce him as his partner to his family members.


The next day, the accused called Mr Tan's home in Johor Baru and told the latter's mother about their relationship. Mr Tan's mother was shocked and told the accused that "it was not possible for them".


Later, Mr Tan told the accused over the phone that he was not gay and that he wanted to get married and have children. He also accompanied the accused to see a psychiatrist, who told Mr Tan to delay his intended break-up while the accused was on medication to stabilise his emotions.


On the morning of Sept 4, the accused headed for Mr Tan's home to look for him, bringing along a knife he had bought a day earlier.


At the walkway, the accused pleaded with Mr Tan to break up with him "slowly" as he could not take it but the latter kept quiet. The accused then pleaded with Mr Tan to spend time with him but the latter replied that he had to keep his family company.


Sensing that there was little chance of a reconciliation, the accused took out the knife and stabbed his lover twice in the chest and once in the back.


A passer-by - who remains unidentified - struggled with the accused, kicked the knife into a drain and scolded him before walking off.


A few other passers-by performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Mr Tan before paramedics arrived. Mr Tan was pronounced dead in hospital at about 9.15am.


The accused, who was wailing about having killed someone, was arrested at the scene.


On Monday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamed Faizal sought a jail term of 12 to 14 years. He argued that the accused was not acting on impulse but had made a conscious and deliberate decision to kill his lover.


Lawyer Josephus Tan, acting for the accused under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, argued for not more than 12 years. The lawyer told the court that the case was about "betrayed love". He said the accused wanted to be recognised as Mr Tan's life partner but Mr Tan never lived up to his promise.


The accused also wrote a letter in Chinese, saying he was remorseful and seeking forgiveness from Mr Tan's family. "I really loved him. This is the regret of my life and eternal pain," he wrote.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

6 Bangladeshi men charged with murder of compatriot near Tuas View Dormitory

Tuas View Dormitory at Tuas South Avenue 1. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

Published 2 hours ago
Amir Hussain

SINGAPORE - Six men from Bangladesh were on Tuesday (Sept 27) charged with the intentional murder of a compatriot near Tuas View Dormitory at 70 Tuas South Avenue 1 on Saturday night (Sept 24).

The foreign workers - Ripon Hasan Shahidullah Bhuiyan, 34; Ahamed Fahad, 32; Ahmed Kayes, 31; Sohel Rana Abdul Kadir, 30; Miah Mohammad Rasal, 28; and Goni Osman, 23 - are accused of taking part in an unlawful assembly with several other unknown people between 9.30pm and 9.47pm on Saturday.

The group's intention was allegedly to cause hurt to Mr Munshi Abdur Rahim, 32, also a Bangladeshi national, who later died.

The six men's charges did not state how Mr Munshi was killed.

The men will be remanded for one week at Central Police Division for investigators to probe the involvement of other accomplices.

The six, who were arrested on Sunday (Sept 25), may also be brought out of remand.

The case will be mentioned again on Oct 4.

Under the law, an assembly of five or more people is considered unlawful under certain circumstances, such as if the group's intention is to commit a crime.

If a crime is indeed committed by a member of an unlawful assembly, every member of the group is then liable to be punished for that crime.

The punishment for murder with intention is the mandatory death penalty.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Re: Molester gets four years' jail and caning


Maid jailed for ill-treating 10-month-old baby boy

Atmi Sana Sulaeman, an Indonesian domestic worker, was sentenced to 16 weeks' jail for ill-treating her employer's 10-month-old baby.

Published Sep 28, 2016, 5:24 pm SGT
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

SINGAPORE - An Indonesian domestic worker, whose sleep was interrupted by a crying baby, grabbed the 10-month-old boy's calf and flung him to the side towards her on a mattress they were sharing.

Atmi Sana Sulaeman did this twice on the night of June 22 and her actions were caught by a closed-circuit television camera her employer had installed in the child's bedroom.

After her employer made a police report on June 29, investigations showed that on June 19, Atmi had also flung the boy twice after feeding him.

Her employer cannot be named due to a gag order.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong said the boy suffered no physical injuries when he was examined at KK Women's and Children's Hospital on June 29. District Judge Kessler Soh sentenced her to 16 weeks' jail on Wednesday (Sept 28) after she admitted to three counts of child abuse. He backdated her sentence to July 1 and told her that what she did was very wrong.

Atmi, who started working for the family in Woodlands on Oct 15 last year, said in mitigation that she was very tired at the time of the incidents.

The judge said in sentencing her: "I note that you are sorry for what you have done, and I am happy to note that, but it is a very serious thing to abuse a child, even when you are tired."

The mother of two could have been fined up to $4,000 and/or jailed for up to four years on each charge.

Two other similar charges were taken into consideration.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

$160k fine for GST evasion of $23k

Published Sep 30, 2016, 5:00 am SGT
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

To save on Goods and Services Tax (GST) for goods imported from South Korea, a businessman created fake invoices to show lower import values for the goods.

Between February 2014 and April this year, Nam Jintae, 47, imported goods worth $860,600 from South Korea and evaded almost $53,000 in GST.

Yesterday, the South Korean national, a director of Jennie Trading, was fined $160,000 after admitting to eight of 24 charges of fraudulent evasion of GST amounting to a total of $22,826.

Customs prosecutor Lee Kim Loong said Nam personally dealt with suppliers of the goods and gave instructions to the shipping agent on the importation.

Between February 2014 and July last year, Jennie Trading imported 65,264 items of women's clothes, 24,700 items of plastic bags and 2,300 items of label stickers from South Korea by air via eight import permits.

After Nam had bought the goods, the suppliers would send him the invoices with the import value indicated.

He knew that the import GST payable was based on the actual import values of the goods.

He would pay for the goods through electronic banking, but create fake invoices showing lower import values for the goods.

He then gave the fake invoices to an agent - Sintop International - through his Korean shipping agent, so that Sintop would use these invoices for getting the import permits and declaring the import GST payable.

As a result, he paid GST of $3,130 for eight imports instead of $25,956, fraudulently evading GST totalling $22,826.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Three Britons charged with raping woman in hotel room

Elena Chong
Friday, Oct 7, 2016

SINGAPORE - Three Britons who were charged in September with raping a 22-year-old woman in a hotel room had their case mentioned via a video link on Thursday (Oct 6).

Businessman Khong Tam Thanh, 21, Le Michael and Vu Thai Son, both 23, were charged on Sept 12 with the offence at a room in Carlton Hotel, Bras Basah Road, on Sept 10.

Thanh allegedly raped the woman between 4am and 4.25am; Michael between 4.50am and 5.05am; and Son, between 4.25am and 5.50am.

They were remanded at the Central police division, and subsequently remanded for a psychiatric assessment.

On Thursday, the prosecution sought a six-week adjournment to complete investigation, pending reports, including those from the Health Sciences Authority and the victim.

Mr Shashi Nathan is acting for Thanh while Michael and Son are represented by Mr Paul and Mr Pang Khin Wee respectively.

The trio had apparently come to Singapore for the two-day Ultra mega dance music festival.

Bail of $50,000 was offered to each of them.

Their passports have been impounded.

They will appear in court again on Nov 22.

If convicted, they face jail of up to 20 years and shall also be liable to fine or to caning.

 

[GeneralHavoc]

20 weeks' jail over upskirt videos of young girls

Published 10 hours ago
Amir Hussain

A 28-year-old man took a video of a young girl's underwear at the baby product section of a supermarket in April last year, a court heard.

The eight-year-old had been sitting in a shopping cart with her legs parted. A shopper sensed something amiss and raised the alarm.

The man, Wong Jia Wei, was detained by a security guard. Police later found many other upskirt videos of unknown young girls in his mobile phone.

Yesterday, Wong, a Malaysian, was jailed for 20 weeks. He pleaded guilty to 10 out of 18 charges of insulting the modesty of a woman.

The remaining counts, along with one charge each of having an obscene film and having a film without a valid certificate, were taken into consideration in sentencing.

The court heard that since 2012, Wong would record upskirt videos whenever he got the chance.

Said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz: "Wong revealed that he had taken numerous upskirt videos of young Chinese girls between six and 10 years of age when he chanced upon them sitting in a manner that inadvertently exposed their panties... he has been taking upskirt videos since 2012."

The court heard that since 2012, Wong would record upskirt videos whenever he got the chance.

He would cover the screen of his Sony Xperia phone with a phone cover while filming.

On June 30, 2013, Wong took an upskirt video of a girl who was with her family in the Bugis Village area.

On Sept 15, 2013, he recorded an upskirt video of a girl outside the Starbucks outlet in Bugis Junction.

The next year, on April 12, 2014, Wong did the same thing to a girl at Serangoon Public Library.

A month later, on May 10, he took an upskirt video of a girl who was with her mother on a public bus.

He also filmed girls sitting in shopping trolleys at FairPrice outlets. He took an upskirt video at Bedok Mall on Dec 15, 2013; another at Ang Mo Kio Hub on Jan 26 last year; and yet another at Nex on March 27 last year.

Amir Hussain

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Former hotel chef jailed and fined for subletting condo rooms for prostitutes to use as brothels

Amir Hussain
Tuesday, Oct 11, 2016

SINGAPORE - A 48-year-old hotel chef, who got to know about the online vice trade, started renting apartment units so that he could sublet them to prostitutes, a court heard.

From end 2014 to early this year, Xue Donglai, who worked as a sous chef for Swisshotel Merchant Court, earned about $15,000 in profit from renting rooms out as brothels.

One prostitute, a 33-year-old from China, serviced about 600 customers in one of the rooms between Oct 10 last year and Feb 22.

On Friday (Oct 10), Xue was jailed for three months and fined $23,000.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of living on the earnings of prostitution and one count of running a brothel.

If he is unable to pay the fine, he will have to spend another five weeks in jail.

The court heard that Xue, a Singapore permanent resident from China, who has worked in Singapore for the last 16 years, rented at least five apartment units over the years in order to sublet them to prostitutes.

Three of the units were located at Urban Lofts in Rangoon Road, Ness in Lorong 32 Geylang, and Primedge in Lorong 34 Geylang.

Depending on the size of their rooms, Xue would charge the prostitutes between $100 to $140 a month.

If a prostitute was introduced to him by an agent, Xue would also pay $20 in commission each day to her agent.

Xue got his tenants through advertisements that he got his friend to post on WeChat, a messaging app popular in China.

"Further investigations revealed that Xue refused to rent his rooms to social visit pass holders as he felt that if the police were to arrest them inside the unit, the chances of the police investigating the house owners and tenants were higher compared to special pass holders," said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kavita Uthrapathy.

"According to him, he has earned a profit of about $15,000 from renting rooms to prostitutes over the years, after deducting the monthly rental paid to the landlord and utility bills.

"He has since spent the money on drinks, food and repayment of his credit card bills," added the DPP.

On Feb 25, four prostitutes from China, aged 24, 30, 33 and 37, were arrested during an undercover operation.

Xue was arrested the same day at Swisshotel Merchant Court and admitted to subletting rooms for prostitutes to use as brothels.

In mitigation, Xue's lawyer Simon Tan said Xue is a first-time offender, is truly remorseful and had co-operated fully with the authorities.

Xue came to Singapore in 2000 to join Grand Shanghai Restaurant as a cook and joined Swisshotel Merchant Court as a junior sous chef in 2014.

He is the sole breadwinner of his family, and had found it hard to rely solely on his income to support his family's expenses as his daughter was studying in the UK, said Mr Tan.

He wanted to supplement his income by renting out apartments to other Chinese nationals in Singapore and was not directly involved in the prostitution of his tenants.

Xue was sacked from his job after he informed his employer about his charges.

The maximum punishment for living on the earnings of prostitution is five years' jail and a $10,000 fine.

The maximum penalty for being a person in charge of a brothel is a $3,000 fine and three years' jail for a first conviction, and a $10,000 fine and five years' jail, for subsequent convictions.