A 41-year-old unemployed man who threw a cat over the 13th-floor parapet of his block in Yishun Ring Road and caused its death on Oct 30 last year was sentenced to 18 months of probation yesterday.

Lee Wai Leong, who has moderate intellectual disability, admitted to one count of wantonly causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The cat died from multiple traumatic injuries, including fractures and organ failure.

A community court heard that he committed the offence because the cat - which he had picked up from the ground floor - was "noisy" and had entered his home once before.

While remanded for three weeks at the Institute of Mental Health for assessment, he was assessed to be "simple-minded".

Given his mental disability and simple-mindedness, the prosecution said Lee did not commit the offence with any cruel intent.

"The accused had limited comprehension of the magnitude of and the consequences that flow from his wrongdoing," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao.

Lee's lawyer, Mr Josephus Tan, assigned by the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, had said in mitigation that Lee has epilepsy.

He dropped out of school after Primary 4 and has the estimated IQ of a 10-year-old or lower. He is unable to work and spends his day helping out with household chores and looking after his 14 pet fish.

Mr Tan also said Lee's parents, elder brother, sister-in-law and niece have taken measures to ensure that he does not abuse cats any more. Since the offence, his parents have been monitoring him and he has been sharing the room with his parents and niece.

Sentencing him to probation, District Judge Mathew Joseph said animal violence of any kind was not to be condoned. He also expressed his concern about Lee re-offending. "It is cruel and it is a cowardly act against a defenceless creature. I hope you have learnt from this," he told Lee.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore has received 41 reports of cat deaths in Yishun since September last year.

Lee will attend programmes specified by the probation officer and his parents will be bonded to ensure his good behaviour. He could have been jailed for up to 18 months and fined up to $15,000 under the Animals and Birds Act.

This article was first published on Jun 08, 2016.
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A businessman has been charged with four counts of attempting to deceive the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) into giving payouts under the Wage Credit Scheme.

Yesterday's prosecution is the first under the scheme, which was introduced in 2013 to help businesses cope with rising labour costs.

Chou Li Chen, 69, allegedly tried to dupe the Iras into believing that he had received a wage increase of $41,674 each from four companies - Interfam, Virtuality Art & Entertainment, Cap Investment and Assobuild - in 2013.

Chou, who is represented by Mr S. Radakrishnan, is a director of Assobuild and financial manager of the four companies.

He is said to have dishonestly induced the Iras into paying $16,670 to each of the four companies under the Wage Credit Scheme.

The three-year scheme, part of a support package, sees the Government co-funding 40 per cent of pay hikes to Singaporean employees. It has been extended to next year at a lower co-funding level.

Mr Radakrishnan told the court that he had just been engaged and needs to take full instructions and make representations.

If convicted, Chou could be jailed for up to five years and fined on each charge. The case will be mentioned on July 7. His bail of $15,000 has been extended until then.

This article was first published on Jun 09, 2016.
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A clerk working at the Traffic Police investigation branch provided the contact details of 23 accident victims to an executive at a law firm in exchange for cash, a court heard on Tuesday.

Over two years, Khatijah A. Manap got at least $2,500 from Gulzar Raja Singh Sandhu - about $200 for each contact who eventually engaged his firm, Clifford Law.

On Tuesday, Khatijah, 61, pleaded guilty to three graft charges and five charges of wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act.

She admitted to five other corruption charges and 18 other wrongful communication charges. These will be considered when she is sentenced at a later date.

A district court heard that Khatijah was employed as a corporate support officer in charge of recording the movement of Traffic Police investigation papers.

In 2008, she got into a traffic accident and was referred to Raja by a relative of hers. He, in turn, introduced her to his daughter, Ms Viviene Sandhu, a lawyer at Clifford Law.

Khatijah told Raja that she was working in the Traffic Police investigation branch.

She also saw him a few times at work, when he went there to buy official copies of traffic reports.

In 2010, after she had received the payout for her accident claim, she was approached by Raja at the Traffic Police headquarters.

He asked her to work with him. A few days later, she agreed.

Her offences came to light when a man who had been involved in an accident in early 2013 called the Traffic Police hotline to ask about the status of investigations into the crash.

He was connected to Khatijah's office line and left his particulars for a call-back.

Shortly after, he got a call from an "Azizah" claiming to be from Clifford Law. She advised him to consult Ms Sandhu if he wished to seek compensation and said she could arrange a meeting with a paralegal called Raja.

The man previously had got a call from "Azizah" about seeking compensation after he lodged a report in early 2012 for an accident in which he was involved.

So after the call from "Azizah" in 2013, the man called Khatijah to ask her why she had disclosed his number to an outsider. She told him she was "Azizah".

He then reported the matter.

This article was first published on Jun 09, 2016.
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A man's blow with his bare fist in a fight in January was so powerful that it broke another man's skull. To this day, the victim has not recovered fully. He cannot even remember being in the fight.

Yesterday Ker Kian Hwee, 37, a part-time security officer, was sentenced to nine months' jail after he pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt by a rash act that endangers human life.

The victim is Mr Ong Hock Wah, 38, a dishwasher.

A district court heard that on Jan 2, Ker went with two friends, Mr Charlie Tan Chien Meng and Mr Ng Weng Yap, both 37, to E Red Dot pub at 69 Kampong Bahru Road. They met Mr Ong, an acquaintance, there.

Just before 2am the next day, Ker and his two friends left the pub to eat at the Ya-Mahyuddin Al-Jailani Restaurant at 89, Kampong Bahru Road. Mr Ong joined them later.

Ker and Mr Ong then quarrelled as Ker felt Mr Ong had been disrespectful to a pub waitress earlier.

Ker slammed the table with his hands and stood up, prompting Mr Ong to get up. Ker then wrapped his arm around Mr Ong's neck and dragged him out of the restaurant. Mr Tan and Mr Ng followed.

Outside, in Blair Road, Mr Ong and Ker traded several blows. One of Ker's blows caused Mr Ong to fall unconscious and start bleeding from the left ear.

Ker fled the scene; Mr Tan tried to help Mr Ong to sit up and asked if he was okay. But Mr Ong stared back blankly and did not respond.

Shortly afterwards, Ker returned and saw Mr Ong bleeding heavily. When Ker, Mr Tan and Mr Ng heard that the police and ambulance were on their way, they fled.

Mr Ong was taken to the Singapore General Hospital. But he left the hospital on his own at about 3.50am in a taxi.

When the cab arrived in Jurong West Street 61, he got out and walked unsteadily before collapsing in front of the cabby.

He was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in a deep coma. He was found to have a fractured skull, traumatic brain injury and bleeding in the brain.

He underwent brain surgery and was later transferred for inpatient rehabilitation at the Ang Mo Kio - Thye Hua Kwan Hospital.

The court heard that, as of end May, he continued to be cognitively impaired, with severe retrograde amnesia and deficits in short-term memory, attention span and processing speed.

He also has difficulty in expressing himself. He is able to recognise people and faces, but is unaware of the date and time.

He also has problems with learning new tasks, such as how to use a mobile phone.

However, he has good insight into his current condition and is able to care for himself at home, although he is still unable to work.

He is unable to recall events leading up to his hospitalisation. The retrograde amnesia is likely to be permanent, but Mr Ong is likely to recover further and may return to work later, the court heard.

For his crime, Ker could have been jailed for four years and fined $10,000.

This article was first published on Jun 11, 2016.
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A group of three punched and kicked a man repeatedly and attacked him with a foldable chair, causing a facial fracture, a court heard yesterday.

One of the three, driver Abdul Halil Osman, 31, was jailed for nine months after he admitted causing grievous hurt to Mr Muhammad Abdul Latip in a common corridor of a HDB block in Bukit Batok on Jan 27 this year.

The case against his wife, Siti Norhaizah Abdullah, 30, and Rahmat Jumari, 28, is in the pre-trial conference stage.

The court heard that Rahmat was in a relationship with Siti. Mr Muhammad was previously in a relationship with her.

Investigations showed that at about 6.30am on Jan 27, Abdul Halil, Siti and Rahmat went to Mr Muhammad's home in Bukit Batok West Avenue 4.

Their intention was to help Siti take back her daughter, who had been living with Mr Muhammad and his mother.

The group waited at the void deck for 11/2 hours before going up to the victim's unit.

Siti knocked on the door of Mr Muhammad's unit and asked to see her daughter, while her husband and Rahmat waited nearby.

When Siti and Mr Muhammad started arguing, her husband went over.

Rahmat joined them and punched Mr Muhammad on the neck a few times.

Abdul Halil then used the chair to hit the victim, while Rahmat kicked him.

Mr Muhammad fell to the ground, but the three continued punching, and kicking him, as well as hitting him with the chair.

One of them then tore off Mr Muhammad's clothes and Siti used Rahmat's mobile phone to take several photographs of Mr Muhammad lying naked on the floor.

Mr Muhammad later managed to get up and return home. He was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for treatment.

Among his injuries was a non-displaced fracture of the right frontal sinus. He was discharged four days later and given hospitalisation leave of two weeks.

Abdul Halil was arrested two days later in Bukit Batok Street 31.

In mitigation, he told District Judge Wong Li Tein that he wanted to apologise.

The father of five could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined or caned for voluntarily causing grievous hurt.

This article was first published on Jun 11, 2016.
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A former lawyer who holds the dubious record of having the most complaints filed against him was convicted yesterday of providing legal advice to some Chinese nationals when he was not authorised to do so.

Leonard Loo Peng Chee threw in the towel after 24 days of his court hearing. He had contested charges of acting as an advocate and solicitor, abetting in a conspiracy with a man to solicit clients on his behalf, and abetting a Chinese national to intentionally obstruct the course of justice.

The 45-year-old had had 15 years of experience when he was struck off the rolls in 2012 by the Court of Three Judges for professional misconduct.

The Law Society had received 14 complaints from his clients and the courts, covering at least 86 instances of misconduct, including dishonesty. The litany of complaints against him included his being ill-prepared to argue his cases, being late for court hearings or not showing up, and not complying with court directions.

Earlier this week, Loo indicated his wish to plead guilty. Yesterday, he admitted to four charges under the Legal Profession Act (LPA).

Even though he was not authorised to provide legal advice by then, in November 2013, he provided legal advice and prepared legal representations to the authorities for Ms Zhao Kejing, 24, Ms Luo Guangzhen, 24, and Ms Luo Chunyan, 26, and legal advice to Ms Xie Xin Xin, 27. Three other charges, including another under the LPA, will be taken into consideration when he is sentenced later.

Loo ran a business called Qilin Immigration and Manpower Services Bureau to carry out labour contracting services in immigration, visa, manpower and employment matters.

A district court heard that Ms Zhao was arrested for vice-related activities on Nov 20, 2013, and was referred to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for repatriation. Her landlord gave her Loo's contact number and said Loo was a lawyer who could help her.

The next day, when Loo met Ms Zhao at a bar in Balestier, her friend asked if he was a lawyer but he did not reply.

He then asked about Ms Zhao's case. She told him she hoped he could help her get her passport back from the authorities without a ban on her return to Singapore.

Loo said he could help her file an appeal, which would cost $800.

After Ms Zhao had engaged Loo, he met her at the Police Cantonment Complex and showed her the appeal letter, which she signed and submitted .

They went to ICA to apply for an extension of her special pass. There, he asked her for $800, but she had only $400 with her. She gave it to him. She paid another $200 later, when he asked for the balance of his fees.

Loo also gave legal advice and drafted letters for Ms Luo Guangzhen and Ms Luo Chunyan, who were arrested for vice-related activities on Nov 19, 2013.

The duo's friend, Ms Xie, who went along to meet Loo, sought his advice on how to get her social visit pass extended. Loo said he would write to the ICA but told her it was unlikely that she would get a one-month extension.

She paid him $800, but later got the money back when she decided not to engage him.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Anandan Bala and Quek Jing Feng sought an adjournment to make written submissions on sentencing.

District Judge Jasvender Kaur adjourned the case to Aug 12.

The maximum penalty is a $25,000 fine and six months' jail for each charge.

This article was first published on Jun 16, 2016.
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Ten waitresses without the necessary work permits escaped arrest after a police officer tipped off a nightclub general manager to an impending raid, a court heard yesterday.

Hui Yew Kong, 38, then a sergeant, admitted sending a message informing Club Icon boss Samuel Lim Yong Choon to get his "gals out from the back asap" before they could be arrested for immigration offences on Jan 9, 2014.

He also pleaded guilty to communicating unauthorised information to a nightclub manager on June 3, 2013, as well as three charges of acting as a bookmaker by receiving bets for football fixtures.

Hui was jailed by District Judge Salina Ishak for 19 months and fined $60,000 or three months' jail in default. Eight other charges were considered in sentencing.

In the same court, Lim, 33, was sentenced to four weeks' jail for using a signal to alert his employees at the nightclub in Lee Kai House in Middle Road.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Yeo Shenglong said Hui went on to work as a bartender at the Club de Colour nightclub in the same building in January 2014. He left the police force in the middle of 2014.

At about 11pm on Jan 9 that year police conducted checks on the nightclubs and similar businesses at Lee Kai House. Lim, who heard about the raid from a staff member at a discotheque in the building, initiated an SMS exchange with Hui, who sent him text messages to get his "gals out from the back asap'', adding: "Must be fast. Once bus come everyone will be arrested.''

Lim then instructed his bouncer to have Icon's DJ switch on the "No Smoking" sign - a pre-arranged signal to the waitresses who did not have proper work permits to leave the club, to avoid being caught.

Had they been caught, the club could have been penalised with demerit points or fined for regulatory breaches.

In another case - under the Official Secrets Act - the court heard that in 2010, Hui - a regular at the club - came to know its manager Jae Wee Wei-Ta.

On June 7, 2013 Wee asked Hui to help him find out if an employee who had failed to report for work was wanted by the police or in custody. He agreed to help.

Hui, then attached to the Central Police Division lock-up, called Tanglin police station charge room and asked whether Wee's employee was in custody. He was told there was no such person there. Hui then informed Wee via a WhatsApp message about this when he was not authorised to. DPP Yeo said Hui also acted as bookmaker for bets totalling about $20,000 when he was a serving police officer.

Hui's lawyer Lim Soo Peng said his client was "ashamed" of what he had done and apologised to the court. He said Hui had been in financial difficulties, owing money to banks, and credit card and insurance companies, as well as friends and relatives.

Hui, whose only son is with his former wife, is a "broken man today with no money, no family, little prospects'', added Mr Lim.

He could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined for intentionally obstructing the course of justice. The OSA charge is punishable with a $2,000 fine and two years' jail, and for the betting offences, a fine of between $20,000 and $200,000 and up to five years' jail per charge under the Betting Act.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jun 18, 2016.
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A security guard who sexually assaulted his 12-year-old daughter over a period of around 10 months and threatened to kill his estranged wife was sentenced to jail and caning yesterday.

The 43-year-old, who cannot be named so as not to identify his victim, had pleaded guilty to two charges each of molestation and criminal intimidation. Two other charges were taken into consideration.

He was sentenced to four years and three months in jail and five strokes of the cane.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy told the court last week that the man would wait until his family was asleep or when there was no one at home before sending text messages to his daughter to go to his room. He would then molest her.

The girl was so frightened and stressed that she finally revealed what he had been doing to her to her grandmother.

The court heard that the man had wrongfully restrained his daughter by hugging her from behind with a strong grip and molested her some time in September 2014.

About two months later, he pushed her onto his bed and slid his hand under her clothes.

The girl was accompanying her grandmother to a clinic on June 29 last year when her grandmother asked why she was crying. She then showed her grandmother some messages on the phone from her father, and said he had been molesting her for some time.

The man also threatened to kill his 34-year-old wife on Sept 27, 2014. On June 29 last year, he pointed a knife at her and chased her along the corridor outside their home.

The man and his wife are undergoing divorce proceedings.

In another court yesterday, a 41-year-old lorry driver was sentenced to 26 months and 12 weeks' jail and six strokes of the cane for molesting his two stepdaughters and insulting the modesty of the older girl.

He married their mother in 2007 after their father left them.

He admitted to molesting the older girl, then 15, in 2008 at their home in Yishun Ring Road.

Two years later, he touched the chest of the younger one, then 15. He also admitted sexually assaulting the younger girl in the living room of his sister's flat in Marsiling Drive in 2011.

After the couple's divorce in 2014, the girls made a police report.

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This article was first published on Jul 01, 2016.
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A mechanical and electrical supervisor was jailed for seven months yesterday for molesting a woman on an MRT train on the East-West Line.

Kyaw Myo That, 33, a Myanmar national, was convicted after a two-day trial last month of touching the 22-year-old woman's bra area under her left armpit.

The victim had testified that she boarded the train in Boon Lay on the morning of May 8 last year, and found a seat to the left of a priority seat at Buona Vista station. Kyaw sat to her left.

She had her handbag on her lap with the handle resting under her left armpit .

She noticed Kyaw moving closer to her but did not think much about it. Later, she felt the left side of her bra move. Thinking it was her bag handle, she moved the strap to the front.

However, after the train left Tanjong Pagar station, she felt the movement again. She looked at her left armpit area and saw Kyaw had three fingers on her breast. He then smiled at her.

When the train left City Hall station, she stood up and exited at Bugis station. Kyaw followed her.

Terrified, she called her cousin and asked her to stay on the phone with her. Kyaw followed her all the way until she reached her workplace before turning back.

She called her elder brother who had to calm her down for 20 minutes as she was crying. She made a police report the next day.

Kyaw denied touching her intentionally as he was sleeping intermittently. His case was that if he did touch her, it was accidental.

Convicting him last month, District Judge Eddy Tham said Kyaw gave a very clear account of the incident in his police statement. He had stated that he was feeling sleepy inside the train when he folded his arms across his chest, with his left hand under the right armpit. This was consistent with the woman's version.

But in court, Kyaw departed from this to bolster his defence that he could not have done it, said the judge, adding he therefore "(had) no problem" finding the accused did indeed touch the victim.

He agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor James Low that such offences in public transport must be strongly deterred as it was difficult for victims to ascertain whether the touch was accidental or not. The victim in this case had given Kyaw the benefit of the doubt at first.

Kyaw, defended by Mr Nirmal Singh, could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or received any combined punishment.

This article was first published on Jul 09, 2016.
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A man who helped one of Singapore's most notorious gangsters flee the country after a gangland-style shooting of a nightclub owner was yesterday found guilty - a decade after the crime.

On Feb 15, 2006, Tan Chor Jin, dubbed the"One-eyed Dragon"as he was blind in one eye, sparked an international manhunt after he repeatedly shot Mr Lim Hock Soon in his Serangoon Avenue 4 flat.

Malaysian Ho Yueh Keong, who had fetched Tan from the Woodlands Checkpoint the day before the shooting, took him back the same way about an hour after the killing.

Tan was nabbed 10 days later in a Kuala Lumpur hotel. He was found guilty of discharging a firearm and hanged in 2009 at the age of 42.

But Ho remained at large for nine years and was caught only when he tried to leave Malaysia for Batam. He was extradited in July last year.

Yesterday, Ho, now 43, stood upright in the dock and listened intently to a Mandarin interpreter as Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Wen Hsien read out the facts of the case before District Judge Tan Jen Tse.

Handcuffed, shackled and wearing prison attire - a white T-shirt and brown trousers - he pleaded guilty to one charge of harbouring a fugitive. Another count of concealing information about the murder will be considered when he is sentenced tomorrow.

Tan, better known as Tony Kia to his associates, was part of the Ang Soon Tong gang which operated in both Malaysia and Singapore. It was notorious for gun-smuggling, drugs, illegal moneylending and illegal gambling. Tan often hired Ho, also known as "Moh Tang", to drive him from Malaysia to Singapore. Ho would be paid $50 to $100.

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In late 2005, Tan bought a Beretta pistol. He told Ho in January 2006 that he wanted to kill Mr Lim.

On Feb 14, 2006, Tan asked Ho to drive him from Malaysia to Singapore in a Malaysian-registered dark blue Kia car. Tan said he might meet Mr Lim, but did not say why. They spent the night in a flat at Block 515 in Hougang.

Malaysian in One-eyed Dragon case finally charged after 9 years

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The next day, Tan fired six rounds from his pistol into Mr Lim at his flat at about 7am, after he had made Mr Lim tie up his wife, maid and teenage daughter. Five bullets hit Mr Lim. Tan then returned to Hougang, woke Ho up and asked him to drive him back to Malaysia.

While in the car, Tan told someone over the phone that he had killed Mr Lim. Ho asked Tan if he really did so. Tan admitted to the murder and said he threw the pistol into a river.

Ho drove Tan into Malaysia at about 8.20am and they headed for Ho's home in Larkin, Johor Baru. He later drove Tan to Penang in the latter's BMW before they headed back to Muar in Johor. Tan gave him RM500 before they separated.

A few days later, Ho called Tan to say he wished to surrender, but Tan told him not to do so and he obeyed.

For harbouring a person who committed a crime punishable with death, Ho faces up to five years' jail and a fine.

The maximum penalty for not giving information about a crime is six months' jail and a fine.

This article was first published on Aug 9, 2016.
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The estranged wife of Philippe Graffart submitted a victim impact statement to the court, making various allegations against her husband and the killer of their only child.

Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng said she took into account that the statement showed the "grief, loss and suffering experienced by the mother of the child".

But the judicial commissioner made clear that the allegations did not weigh into the sentence imposed on Graffart.

In the statement submitted through the prosecution, Mrs Gwendoline Graffart claimed that her husband had threatened to "kill my son".

Rebutting this in his mitigation plea, Graffart's lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said the allegation is misleading and completely untrue. "Our client has never threatened any kind of hurt or injury to Keryan," he said.

Mrs Graffart also alleged that her husband had threatened her, which Mr Tiwary said is irrelevant as his client is not charged with committing any offence against her.

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She also made various allegations regarding finances. She claimed Graffart owes taxes in Luxembourg - where the couple met and lived before moving to Singapore - and that she is liable for them.

She also alleged that his creditors have approached her for repayment. Mr Tiwary insisted that his client has settled all his taxes and did not owe her any money.

She also mentioned that she would have to spend €4,000 (S$6,100) for Keryan's last rites. Mr Tiwary said his client accepted that it was his responsibility, but this was not the place to discuss funeral costs.

Responding to a press statement by Mrs Graffart, in which she expressed shock at the sentence and disputed the account of events Graffart admitted to, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) reiterated the words of the judicial commissioner, that this was a tragic case and that the accused's actions had caused " immeasurable pain to the parties left behind".

"In deciding on the sentence, the court determined that the offence was of a serious and grave nature and had been committed by a parent against a young and vulnerable child," said an AGC spokesman.

The spokesman added that Mrs Graffart was "afforded the opportunity to convey to the court the matters that she considered relevant for the purposes of sentencing".

selinal@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Ng Huiwen

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This article was first published on August 23, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - A 34-year-old fish farm operator crammed three puppies - a chow chow, a Siberian husky and a schnauzer - into a speaker box in his car boot and then drove across the Causeway to Singapore in April, a court heard.

Immigration officers at Woodlands Checkpoint found the sedated puppies and referred the case to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

On Wednesday (Aug 24), Loh Chee Chiang was jailed for six months after he pleaded guilty to two charges: one count of importing live animals without a licence and another of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

The court heard that Loh drove to Malaysia on the afternoon of April 20.

There, he visited a pet shop near Sentosa, Johor Baru, which sells puppies.

While Loh was looking around the shop, the owner asked if he could help take some puppies to a friend in Singapore.

Loh agreed and the owner had a thorough look through Loh's car.

The owner told Loh he could hide the puppies inside the woofer speaker box in the car boot.

Loh handed over the speaker box to the shop owner for modification before returning to Singapore at about 5pm.

The next evening, Loh drove across the Causeway and reached the pet shop at about 10pm.

Loh had snacks and chatted with the owner, before he saw the latter feed each puppy a white pill.

When the puppies were drowsy, the owner placed them into the woofer speaker box.

He told Loh to drive to a carpark in Marsiling, where a man would collect the puppies and pay him $800. Loh drove back across the Causeway after midnight.

But his car was stopped at Woodlands Checkpoint for checks.

AVA prosecuting officer Yap Teck Chuan called for a stiff sentence, saying such offences are hard to detect given the large volume of traffic into the country.

"(Loh) could easily have evaded detection, if he had not been picked at random for a check by ICA officers," he said.

He also noted that the illegal importation of live animals carries the risk of bringing in deadly diseases, such as rabies.

"Although Singapore has been free from rabies since 1953... the authorities are careful not to be lulled into a false sense of security, especially since Singapore is surrounded by rabies-infected countries.

"Given that Singapore is an urbanised and densely populated city state, the consequences of an outbreak of rabies would be dire," he added.

The puppies were quarantined for 100 days at AVA's Sembawang Animal Quarantine Station. The authorities have worked with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to successfully rehome them.

Loh could have been fined $10,000 and jailed for 12 months for each of his two charges.

This article was first published on August 25, 2016.
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A woman boss of a now-defunct club convicted of procuring a Chinese national by threat to provide sex to customers was given 12 months' jail yesterday for this and three other offences.

Malaysian Chong Mun Moi was found guilty of procurement by threat, living off the 26-year-old's prostitution earnings, harbouring her and managing a place of assignation in June 2013.

The 63-year-old Singapore permanent resident, represented by Mr Daniel Atticus Xu, is appealing, and out on $20,000 bail.

Three others - her partner Lam Kwek Fah, 62; managers Sia Jin Tee, 58; and Lim Kim Siew, 54 - were jailed for helping to run a place of assignation from early to mid-June 2013. Lam got six weeks' jail. The other two got four weeks each.

Chong, then owner of Zou Entertainment,a KTV club in Keong Saik Road, had employed performing artistes to entertain customers.

The Chinese national - who cannot be named due to a gag order - came here in April that year, expecting to work as a drink promoter or bar waitress. But she ended up singing at the club where patrons "tipped" in the form of garlands.

She also did not expect to have to provide sexual services to customers so that they would purchase garlands for her.

When Chong broached the subject of providing paid sexual services, she refused. They had a quarrel. Chong then threatened to publish a notice in the newspapers in her hometown to say she was working here as a prostitute. The singer later caved in and had paid sexual service with two customers.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Houston Johannes and Rachel Lee had sought 18 to 24 months' jail for Chong. They said she blatantly exploited the Chinese national as a "helpless money-making machine''.

This article was first published on August 30, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - He was waiting for a shuttle bus to his camp when he spotted an army mate's girlfriend walking past him on Oct 11, 2015.

Dominique Tiang Zhang Yao decided to follow the 19-year-old into Pasir Ris MRT station and took an upskirt video of her without her knowledge.

Shortly after that, the 22-year-old created a fake Instagram account and sent the video to the girl through Instagram's direct messaging function. He threatened to upload her upskirt video online if she did not send him a nude photograph of herself within an hour.

Alarmed and worried that the video would be leaked out to the public, the victim lodged a police report that evening.

Police obtained closed-circuit television footage from Pasir Ris MRT station and managed to trace Tiang. He was arrested at Pasir Ris camp three days later.

On Friday (Sept 30), Tiang pleaded guilty to criminal intimidation, insulting the modesty of another woman and two charges of unauthorised access to a computer programme.

After his arrest, police found three photographs and six videos of a naked woman in a bathtub of a toilet on his mobile phone.

Investigations later showed that sometime in April 2015, the 21-year-old victim, who was Tiang's friend, had held her birthday celebration in a hotel room. Tiang was among those invited and had stayed for the night.

The next morning, the victim wanted to take a bath and Tiang helped her to wind down the curtains in the open concept toilet. After helping her, he pretended to go back to sleep.

When he was assured that the victim had started to take a bath, he used his mobile phone to take photos and a video of her.

In another case, Tiang was an intern at Proteo Building at Biopolis Drive on Aug 22, 2014, when he found New Zealander Rebecca Guomin Hu's credit card in the pantry. He used the card to buy online gaming funds worth US$100 (S$128.20) each time on four occasions.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet had sought a jail sentence of six to eight months saying the offences, especially the criminal intimidation charge, were serious.

Tiang's lawyer Kalidass Murugaiyan, however, asked the court to consider calling for a probation report as the young man has a lot of potential.

Counsel said his client was serving the commandos at the time but was dropped out after the incident. He applied and has been considered for the airforce, but the application has been put on hold because of the case.

Mr Kalidass said his client has strong family support and has taken steps to reform himself. He has also gone for counselling sessions to address his problem.

District Judge Kessler Soh told Tiang that he had committed a number of serious offences but in view of his age, he was calling for a probation report. Tiang cried in the dock when he heard this.

Tiang will be back in court on Nov 2.

This article was first published on September 30, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - A man who allegedly held a two-year-old boy hostage in a Sembawang flat in a dramatic 17 hour-stand-off with police was on Friday (Sept 30) hauled to court.

Muhammad Iskandah Suhaimi was charged with having a knuckle duster without permission. Knuckle dusters are also known as brass knuckles.

District Judge Christopher Goh granted the police prosecutor's request for Iskandah to be remanded for psychiatric evaluation, even as police investigations regarding his involvement in other possible crimes are still ongoing. The case will be mentioned again on Oct 14.

Iskandah was arrested at around noon on Wednesday (Sept 28), after policemen broke into the fifth floor flat at Block 462, Sembawang Drive, where he had locked himself in. Some officers entered the unit through its windows.

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Police said the arrest was for wrongful confinement of a two-year-old boy and for suspected drug-related offences.

Iskandah had reportedly fought with the boy's mother, and then locked himself inside the flat with the boy on Tuesday night.

The police activated its Crisis Negotiation Unit and Special Operations Command, while the Singapore Civil Defence Force dispatched its Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, among other resources.

The boy was not harmed and has been placed in the custody of the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

His mother, who seemed to have fought with Iskandah before the stand-off began, has also been arrested for suspected drug offences.

The punishment for unlawful possession of a scheduled weapon is a jail term of up to five years, with at least six strokes of the cane, for a first conviction. The penalty for the crime for subsequent convictions is a jail term of between two and eight years, with at least six strokes of the cane.

Under the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act, all kinds of knuckle dusters are considered weapons.

This article was first published on September 30, 2016.
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SINGAPORE - A 28-year-old IT promoter took upskirt videos of 33 women, and then rated the victims based on his perception of how pretty they were, a court heard.

Ryan Er Wei Kiat would give one to four stars for his victims, with four being the prettiest, and catalogued the videos in folders on his computer. He also tried to capture the faces of his victims in his videos.

He managed to escape after he was caught red-handed at an MRT station in 2015 but was tracked down by police a month later.

On Tuesday (Oct 4), Er was jailed for 15 weeks, after he pleaded guilty to 10 out of 33 charges of insulting the modesty of a woman. The remaining counts were taken into consideration in sentencing.

A district court heard that a woman who was travelling up an escalator at Somerset MRT Station at about 11.15am on Aug 24, 2015, felt a touch on the back of her right thigh, between her legs.

"When she turned around, she saw Er standing close behind her and retracting his hand from under her dress. His hand was holding onto a mobile phone," said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Michael Quilindo.

Suspecting Er to have taken an upskirt photo of her, the victim asked Er to show her the contents of his Samsung Note 2 phone. But he refused and tried to leave by walking away. He also fiddled with his phone.

"A tussle then ensued and Er briefly showed a few photographs to the victim in his mobile phone's gallery. Er then managed to escape from the scene," said DPP Quilindo.

Er's identity was established by police through closed-circuit television footage and follow-up investigations.

He was arrested at home on Sept 28, 2015, and admitted to taking a video of the victim's inner thigh and underwear on Aug 24.

He had stored the video, which also captured the victim's face, on his computer.

The computer also had videos of the inner thigh and underwear of various other unknown women. They were taken between July and September 2015.

Er admitted taking the videos at unknown locations in Singapore on his mobile phone. He would transfer upskirt videos he took to his computer and catalogue them into folders.

"He would also rate the victims based on his perception of the beauty of the targeted woman, on a scale of one to four stars, with four being the prettiest," said DPP Quilindo.

In mitigation, Er's lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu said his client was very contrite and undergoing counselling. Er had acted out of impulse due to stress from school and the loss of his father in 2008, Mr Singh added.

Er, who got a diploma in mobile and wireless computing from Temasek Polytechnic, also wrote a letter of apology to his victims, which he submitted to the court.

The maximum punishment for insulting the modesty of a woman is one year's jail and a fine.

This article was first published on October 05, 2016.
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For more than three years, a man who was remanded in custody for killing his wife of 21 years received no psychiatric treatment even though he was diagnosed to be suffering from a delusional disorder of the jealous subtype.

This lack of treatment was "unsatisfactory", observed Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon yesterday, as a three-judge appeal court cut the jail term imposed on Rosdi Joenet, 51, from nine to 7½ years.

"It seems unfair... and mistaken to suggest that the appellant's prison term should be extended to enable treatment to be carried out in prison, when this situation would not have arisen if treatment had been promptly provided."

The court allowed Rosdi's appeal for a lighter sentence given that the killing was a one-off incident which was out of character, that he had a low risk of re-offending and that his family, including his wife's mother and sister, wished to have him back.

In 2012, Rosdi, a driver, began having delusions that his wife was unfaithful.

He suspected that she was seeing a man who drove a BMW. He tried to get his daughter to spy on her and constantly checked with his wife's co-workers on her whereabouts.

She denied having an affair.

On the morning of Nov 17, 2012, he woke her up to talk about their problems but his wife chased him out of the room. Rosdi returned with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabbed her.

He was sentenced to nine years' jail for culpable homicide in March. The judge took into account as a sentencing factor that he was still not well as he had yet to undergo any treatment in prison for his mental illness and thus needed a longer period in jail to be treated.

But yesterday, Rosdi's lawyer, Mr Abraham Vergis, argued that it was "unfair and prejudicial" to hold this against his client, when it was something beyond his control.

When the Chief Justice asked why Rosdi was not treated, Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Kok Weng said the prosecution was trying to find out what happened between the prison authorities and Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrist Bharat Saluja, who has since left Singapore.

The Chief Justice noted that serious offences committed by mentally disordered persons "can pull the court in different directions".

On the one hand is the focus on rehabilitation and, on the other, the protection of the public. Rosdi fell into the former category, based on four IMH reports that the risk of reoffending was low, he said.

"The offence here was undoubtedly an outrage as a husband killed his wife with a knife," he said.

"But the significance of retribution may be attenuated where, as here, those closest to the homicide, namely the children, and the blood relatives of the victim, including her mother and sister, have stated that they seek a reduction of the appellant's sentence because they have forgiven him."

This article was first published on Oct 05, 2016.
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Three days after he moved into a flat, a driver lifted the blanket of his housemate who was sleeping and took a photo of her topless.

Teng Ching Yuan, 31, was caught red-handed when he tried to do it again three days later. Yesterday, he was jailed for 12 weeks after pleading guilty to five charges: two of insulting a woman's modesty, and one each of criminal trespass, use of criminal force and possession of obscene films.

A District Court heard that Teng, a Malaysian, rented a room in a Pasir Ris flat. He stayed there with the unit's owners, a married couple, and a 30-year-old female tenant. The latter had a habit of sleeping unclothed and would usually lock her room door, the court heard.

On April 15, just one week after Teng moved in, the female tenant was awakened at about 5am when she felt someone lifting her blanket slowly about three times. Her door was shut but not locked and the lights were off. She saw Teng standing shirtless beside her.

She cried out, but Teng put his hand over her mouth. She struggled and tried to get her phone to call the police, but Teng told her not to do so. When she shouted for help, he covered her mouth with his hand again.

The flat's owners were woken up by her shouting and went to her room. Teng was arrested that day.

A photo of the victim, topless and asleep, taken on April 12, was found in his phone. There were also 70 obscene films in it.

The maximum penalty for criminal trespass and use of criminal force is three months' jail and a fine of $1,500; for insulting the modesty of a woman, one year's jail and a fine; and for possession of obscene films, a fine and six months' jail.

This article was first published on Oct 05, 2016.
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A disgruntled former member of Lighthouse Evangelism church, who was suffering from delusional disorder, placed joss sticks and chicken heads outside the church in Woodlands on several occasions.

But Cyrus Teo King Huat, 44, was caught on camera when he set fire to a sign bearing Lighthouse Evan- gelism's name on May 13. The church had installed a closed-circuit television camera to monitor the sign, which is outside the church, after it had been set ablaze several times.

Yesterday, Teo was jailed 10 months after he pleaded guilty to one charge of mischief by fire.

Three other charges were taken into consideration in sentencing: mischief by fire, refusing to allow a policeman to take his photo and finger impressions, and refusing to give a blood sample.

Teo used to attend Lighthouse Evangelism, a non-denominational megachurch at 81, Woodlands Circle, the court heard.

On Sept 23 last year, he sent a letter to the church saying he had changed his religion. "Teo was dissatisfied with the church, and also admitted to placing joss sticks and chicken heads outside the church on several occasions," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Esther Tang.

On Oct 2 last year, Pastor Timothy Tan Soo Chai, 57, found three chicken heads, joss sticks and burnt candles in front of the church sign. He found three more chicken heads at the church's side gate.

On May 13 this year, Mr Tan found the church sign burnt. He called the police.

Video footage showed a man splashing a flammable liquid on the sign, before setting it alight at 1.55am and running away. Police tracked Teo down. The church spent $19,020 to repair the sign.

Teo admitted to burning the sign on a previous occasion, some time between 9am on May 2 and 12.45am the next day.

On May 3, while under arrest at Jurong Police Division on suspicion of having committed mischief by fire, Teo refused to give a blood sample to a policeman.

On July 13, again under arrest at the same police station for the same crime, he refused to have his photos and finger impressions taken.

Teo's pro-bono lawyer Cheryl Ng Huiling said he is seeking treatment at the Institute of Mental Health for delusional disorder. Teo believed that he was under a curse, and that burning the sign would remove the curse, the lawyer said.

This article was first published on Oct 08, 2016.
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A secretary who practised writing her boss' signature forged more than 200 cheques and misappropriated $1.3 million from the company.

Lim Hoon Choo, 62, was jailed for 12 years yesterday after admitting to two charges of criminal breach of trust - involving $387,423 in 2012 and $548,309 in 2013. She also pleaded guilty to five counts of forgery.

Seven other charges were considered during her sentencing.

Lim worked for New Asian Capital (NAC), an investment management firm. Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jun Hong told the court that her duties at its Jalan Sultan office included issuing cheques on behalf of the firm and her boss, Mr Ng Eng Ghee, to pay for various expenses.

Some time in February 2010, she began forging cheques by signing Mr Ng's signature. They were made payable to "Lim Hoon Choo", which Mr Ng and NAC directors did not know was her real name as she was known to them as Eve.

To cover her tracks, she would doctor bank statements and cheque-book stubs to state that the payments made to her were "credit card payments". She would also indicate that the disbursed amounts were smaller than they actually were, so as not to arouse suspicion.

Mr Ng lodged a report on Oct 1, 2013, alleging that an employee had fraudulently issued cheques in her favour.

From February 2010 to September 2013, at least 218 cheques were forged, and $1.3 million misappropriated from the employer. Partial restitution of $141,920 was made. Lim said she gambled away the remaining money at casinos in Malaysia.

DPP Tan highlighted several aggravating factors when he sought a total sentence of 11 to 13 years.

He said this was Lim's fourth spate of offending. She was jailed eight months for CBT in 1983; two years in 1988 for CBT and cheating; and nine years for a series of forgery offences in 1999.

He said Lim had ample opportunity to stop committing further offences but showed neither contrition nor remorse.

DPP Tan said Lim was largely unsupervised and worked alone in the office. "This evinces the huge degree of trust reposed in the accused which she exploited to conduct her massive scam," he said.

Lawyer Benjamin Frois said his client committed the offences to get back at her employer who had ill-treated her. She claimed that she was sent on a "risky business" mission to Johor to interview a potential driver and was looked down on for not being a graduate.

But District Judge Low Wee Ping, who found no mitigating factor whatsoever in her case, said: "How absurd to cite that as mitigation."

Lim could have been jailed for up to 15 years and fined on each charge.

This article was first published on Oct 15, 2016.
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