Teenager threw brick into Istana compound, then got upset at being arrested. He returned with a glass bottle
A view of the entrance to the Istana.
www.todayonline.com
SINGAPORE — Out of boredom, a 17-year-old boy threw a brick into the Istana compound.
He was arrested, but this only made the teen upset. He returned to the Istana grounds the following week and threw a glass bottle into the compound.
On Friday (June 30), the teen pleaded guilty to one charge of acting rashly to endanger the personal safety of others, with one similar charge taken into consideration.
He cannot be named under the Child and Young Persons Act, which bans the publication of the identities of young offenders under 18 years of age.
He is in remand and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18.
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District Judge Kessler Soh Boon Leng called for reports to assess the teen's suitability to undergo probation and a mandatory treatment order.Probation is usually offered to first-time offenders between 16 and 21 years old. This does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.
A mandatory treatment order is a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to the offence.
WHAT HAPPENED
On May 18, the teen threw a brick in the direction of the Istana compound and he was later arrested.It is unclear if any action was taken against him after the arrest.
Court documents stated that he felt that the arrest was unjustified, since he had not intended to throw the brick into the Istana compound and did not expect it to land in the compound, which he knew was a protected place.
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Wanting to show his displeasure, he decided to throw a glass bottle into the Istana compound on May 25.At 1.30pm that day, he left his house wearing a blue T-shirt, with a grey T-shirt underneath it.
He also took a glass bottle of fermented beancurd that he had bought a few days earlier, which he intended to throw into the Istana grounds.
He arrived at Plaza Singapura mall at 2pm and tore off the packaging of the glass bottle, before walking to the Istana nearby.
At 2.09pm, he threw the glass bottle over the wall of the Istana compound and ran away. The bottle shattered upon landing on a walkway inside the compound.
On his way home, the teen switched to wearing his grey T-shirt to avoid detection, because he knew that his actions had been recorded on the Istana’s surveillance cameras.
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Certis Cisco officer Tan Soon Hai, who was monitoring the surveillance camera feed, saw the incident.He reported it and notified Mr Tan Aik Siong, the deputy commanding officer of the Istana Security Unit, who then directed his team to call the police.
In court, when asked by Judge Soh whether he had anything to say for himself, the teenager who was not represented by a lawyer said that he had “nothing to say”.
He has been in remand since May 27.
Anyone convicted of acting rashly as to endanger the personal safety of others can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$2,500, or both.
