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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Teen in fatal fall was due in court
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Her parents planned to accompany her to court to answer shoplifting charges </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Debbie Yong
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The bodies of 15-year-old Mernel Koh and close friend Eddy Affendi, 22, were found near Block 127 in Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 last Tuesday, a few blocks from the Kohs' home. After Mernel's death, her parents found a text message on her phone sent by a friend which speculated on a possible sentence in a girls' home. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN PHOTO: COURTESY OF KOH FAMILY
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Even the toughest and most rebellious teen may buckle internally once he is charged in court over an offence, say youth counsellors.
'When the law catches up with them, reality hits and their adventure quickly turns into a nightmare,' said Mr Glenn Lim, a rehabilitation ambassador for the Yellow Ribbon Project, an initiative to integrate ex-offenders back into society.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Teen offenders: When counselling can help
Some teens may commit an offence without any consideration for the consequences or out of peer pressure to prove themselves, said Mr Glenn Lim, a rehabilitation ambassador for the Yellow Ribbon Project.
But once they are caught, and 'fuelled by scepticism and suspicion of authority, these youth may be driven even further into isolation, despair or denial'.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The death of 15-year-old Mernel Koh, last Tuesday, may have been linked to the fact that she was due to appear in court to answer charges of shoplifting.
Her body and that of a 22-year-old man were found on the ground near Block 127 in Bukit Batok West Avenue 6.
Her parents had planned to accompany her to the Juvenile Court last Tuesday. But she did not return home last Monday night and skipped court the next morning.
At noon, after two hours of searching, her parents received a call informing them that she was dead.
The bodies of Mernel, a Secondary 2 student at Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, and Chinese-Indonesian Eddy Affendi, were found a few blocks from the Kohs' home.
Mr Affendi, believed to be a student at private school Informatics, was a close friend whom Mernel often referred to as her 'godfather', said their friends.
A wooden stool, two pairs of slippers and a plastic bag containing a can of industrial glue were found on the staircase landing between the ninth and 10th storeys of the block. The police have classified the case as unnatural death and are investigating.
Speaking to The Sunday Times at the wake last Thursday, Mernel's father, Mr Sunny Koh, 46, a freelance contractor, said she showed no visible signs of depression or worry in the days preceding her death.
He believed that her actions were likely provoked by her fear of attending court.
'She was scared. It was supposed to be just a review of her rehabilitation programme, but she thought she would be sent away to a home,' he said. Mernel lived with him and her 12-year-old brother in Block 118.
Her mother, aged 38, who declined to be named, lives separately due to her work. They are not divorced, said Mr Koh.
=> Separated?
In 2006, Mernel was caught stealing shirts and handbags from a department store in Orchard Road and placed on the Guidance Programme.
In an entry dated Sept 27 on her blog, she wrote: 'Good girl gone bad, retribution's here...I gonna miss these days so much. I know have to pay for the consequences but I just can't face the reality.'
Of her death, Mr Koh said: 'She does not have the guts to jump, I understand my girl very well. The glue gave her the courage.'
After her death, her parents found a text message on her phone sent by one of her friends. It speculated on a possible sentence in a girls' home.
At 2am on the morning of her court appointment, Mernel reportedly called her boyfriend, an 18-year-old named Fairuz, and sounded distressed. She hung up shortly after and was uncontactable for the rest of the night.
Last Wednesday, Mr Affendi's family members flew in from Indonesia to claim his body for cremation last Thursday. They were too distraught to speak to reporters.
Mr Koh said Mernel had known Mr Affendi for three years and the latter was 'a nice, quiet boy' who visited the Kohs' home up to four times a month.
He said that 'godfather' was only a playful term of endearment between friends.
According to reports, Mr Affendi, who had a girlfriend, told friends a week before his death that he was facing relationship problems.
It is also believed that he was due to appear in court on the same day as Mernel for shoplifting offences.
=> Just look at the mess the Old Fart's FTrash pets bring!
Said Mr Koh: 'I don't blame anyone. She's already gone. I just want some peace for my family and her friends.' [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Her parents planned to accompany her to court to answer shoplifting charges </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Debbie Yong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
The bodies of 15-year-old Mernel Koh and close friend Eddy Affendi, 22, were found near Block 127 in Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 last Tuesday, a few blocks from the Kohs' home. After Mernel's death, her parents found a text message on her phone sent by a friend which speculated on a possible sentence in a girls' home. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN PHOTO: COURTESY OF KOH FAMILY
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Even the toughest and most rebellious teen may buckle internally once he is charged in court over an offence, say youth counsellors.
'When the law catches up with them, reality hits and their adventure quickly turns into a nightmare,' said Mr Glenn Lim, a rehabilitation ambassador for the Yellow Ribbon Project, an initiative to integrate ex-offenders back into society.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Teen offenders: When counselling can help
Some teens may commit an offence without any consideration for the consequences or out of peer pressure to prove themselves, said Mr Glenn Lim, a rehabilitation ambassador for the Yellow Ribbon Project.
But once they are caught, and 'fuelled by scepticism and suspicion of authority, these youth may be driven even further into isolation, despair or denial'.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The death of 15-year-old Mernel Koh, last Tuesday, may have been linked to the fact that she was due to appear in court to answer charges of shoplifting.
Her body and that of a 22-year-old man were found on the ground near Block 127 in Bukit Batok West Avenue 6.
Her parents had planned to accompany her to the Juvenile Court last Tuesday. But she did not return home last Monday night and skipped court the next morning.
At noon, after two hours of searching, her parents received a call informing them that she was dead.
The bodies of Mernel, a Secondary 2 student at Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, and Chinese-Indonesian Eddy Affendi, were found a few blocks from the Kohs' home.
Mr Affendi, believed to be a student at private school Informatics, was a close friend whom Mernel often referred to as her 'godfather', said their friends.
A wooden stool, two pairs of slippers and a plastic bag containing a can of industrial glue were found on the staircase landing between the ninth and 10th storeys of the block. The police have classified the case as unnatural death and are investigating.
Speaking to The Sunday Times at the wake last Thursday, Mernel's father, Mr Sunny Koh, 46, a freelance contractor, said she showed no visible signs of depression or worry in the days preceding her death.
He believed that her actions were likely provoked by her fear of attending court.
'She was scared. It was supposed to be just a review of her rehabilitation programme, but she thought she would be sent away to a home,' he said. Mernel lived with him and her 12-year-old brother in Block 118.
Her mother, aged 38, who declined to be named, lives separately due to her work. They are not divorced, said Mr Koh.
=> Separated?
In 2006, Mernel was caught stealing shirts and handbags from a department store in Orchard Road and placed on the Guidance Programme.
In an entry dated Sept 27 on her blog, she wrote: 'Good girl gone bad, retribution's here...I gonna miss these days so much. I know have to pay for the consequences but I just can't face the reality.'
Of her death, Mr Koh said: 'She does not have the guts to jump, I understand my girl very well. The glue gave her the courage.'
After her death, her parents found a text message on her phone sent by one of her friends. It speculated on a possible sentence in a girls' home.
At 2am on the morning of her court appointment, Mernel reportedly called her boyfriend, an 18-year-old named Fairuz, and sounded distressed. She hung up shortly after and was uncontactable for the rest of the night.
Last Wednesday, Mr Affendi's family members flew in from Indonesia to claim his body for cremation last Thursday. They were too distraught to speak to reporters.
Mr Koh said Mernel had known Mr Affendi for three years and the latter was 'a nice, quiet boy' who visited the Kohs' home up to four times a month.
He said that 'godfather' was only a playful term of endearment between friends.
According to reports, Mr Affendi, who had a girlfriend, told friends a week before his death that he was facing relationship problems.
It is also believed that he was due to appear in court on the same day as Mernel for shoplifting offences.
=> Just look at the mess the Old Fart's FTrash pets bring!
Said Mr Koh: 'I don't blame anyone. She's already gone. I just want some peace for my family and her friends.' [email protected]
