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Man Gets Five Weeks’ Jail For Verbally Abusing SCDF Officers

Rushing down to 116 Ho Ching Road to respond to a call for assistance, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers arrived to find two men, one of whom was sitting on a stone chair and complaining of pain in his leg.

The man in pain, Mr Santharasagara Channagan, had asked if he could be conveyed to hospital together with his wheelchair. But when the SCDF officers informed him that the ambulance could not carry wheelchairs safely, his friend, Govindasami, flared up and hurled abusive words at all three of them — an act that landed the 55-year-old five weeks in jail on Wednesday (June 29).

The incident took place on May 27 this year, at around 8.45pm.

Govindasami, who goes by one name, had called the SCDF for help, and had sat nearby drinking rice wine as they attended to his friend.

But upon hearing that the ambulance could not take the wheelchair, he interrupted the conversation and was visibly unhappy. He scolded the trio in a mix of English, Malay and Hokkien vulgarities, and they decided to call the police.

When the police arrived around 9pm, Staff Sergeant Lye Jiawei started interviewing Govindasami. “(He) started to turn aggressive and pushed (SS Lye’s) hand away,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kong Kuek Foo.

The police officer then placed Govindasami under arrest and brought him to Jurong Division Headquarters. Along the way, Govindasami continued to swear repeatedly at the officer.

He faced five charges of verbally abusing a public servant under the Protection from Harassment Act, but only two were proceeded with.

DPP Kong pointed out that Govindasami had a colourful history of disorderly behaviour, mischief and theft in dwelling, dating back to three decades ago. In 2010, he was charged with spewing threatening or abusive words at a public servant, and in 2013, he was charged with hurting a public servant to deter him or her from duty.

Appearing in court unrepresented, Govindasami pleaded for the minimum sentence. Speaking through a translator, he told District Judge Jasvender Kaur that he was taking medication for alcoholism and voices in his head.

“I wish to be sent to a halfway house after my sentence, to withdraw from the alcohol addiction,” he said.

The judge said that she would call for a Community Court Conference to be held to assess if a halfway house was appropriate for him, after the prison term has been served.

Source: TODAY Online

June 30, 2016
Judicial Commissioner: SAF Officers In Dominique Sarron Lee’s Death Have ‘Statutory Immunity’

The two Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officers sued by the family of the late Private Dominique Sarron Lee have “statutory immunity” against legal action, wrote Judicial Commissioner (JC) Kannan Ramesh.

In grounds released on Tuesday (Jun 28), JC Ramesh outlined why in March this year he had thrown out a negligence suit brought by the family of Pte Lee. The full-time national serviceman died from an acute allergic reaction to fumes released by smoke grenades during an exercise in 2012.

A Committee of Inquiry later found Captain Najib Hanuk Muhammad Jalal, Pte Lee’s platoon commander, had breached Training Safety Regulations (TSR) by detonating six smoke grenades – three times the limit specified in the TSR. The officers involved in the exercise were also punished with fines and delays in promotions.

IMMUNITY WHEN ACTION IS CONNECTED TO OFFICER’S DUTIES

However, since Captain Najib’s actions were “intrinsically connected to and a result of the execution of (his) duties in the conduct of the exercise … which he performed as (a) member of the SAF”, he is statutorily immunised from legal action, JC Ramesh wrote.

Under the Government Proceedings Act, members of the SAF “are not burdened by the prospect of legal action while training or while conducting operations”. This immunises members of the SAF from liability when an incident is connected with the execution of the member’s duties, the JC stated in his judgment.

In Pte Lee’s case, the actions of Captain Najib and Major Chia Thye Siong, the Chief Safety Officer for the drill, were connected to their duties in the conduct of the exercise, JC Ramesh wrote, dismissing the arguments of lawyers for Pte Lee’s family.

Mr Irving Choh, who acted on behalf of Pte Lee’s family, had argued the detonation of six smoke grenades – as opposed to the regular two – was an act that was “extraneous” to the scope of the officers’ duties – simply because it constituted a breach of the TSR.

ENLISTMENT NOT A “CONTRACT”, BUT A “DISCHARGE OF DUTY” MANDATED BY LAW

Besides Captain Najib and Major Chia, Pte Lee’s family also named the Attorney-General (AG) as a defendant in the suit. They claimed the AG had breached a contract under the Enlistment Act but JC Ramesh rejected this as well.

“There is no freedom in the formation of the relationship which one would see as a necessary ingredient in the formation of the consensual relationship that is a contract”, the JC wrote.

The enlistment of a serviceman is an act done as “a discharge of duty imposed on him” by the law, explained the JC. “Therefore, (Pte Lee’s family) could not sue the AG for breach of contract.”

Pte Lee died on Apr 17, 2012, after experiencing difficulty breathing following the detonation of six smoke grenades during an exercise.

He collapsed and lost consciousness, and was pronounced dead the same day. A Coroner’s Inquiry found Pte Lee’s cause of death was acute allergic reaction due to the inhalation of zinc chloride fumes released from the smoke grenades.

JC Ramesh ordered Pte Lee’s family to pay the legal costs of the AG (acting on behalf of the SAF) and the two officers, however this was later waived by the Ministry of Defence and lawyers for Captain Najib and Major Chia. No criminal charges have been brought against the officers involved, but the Ministry of Defence has said they have been dealt with, under military law.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

June 29, 2016
Please Help: Old Wheelchair-Bound Grandma Lives With Deaf-Mute Daughter, Sons In Prison

Hi Gilbert

My grandma is 70+, no ability to walk and on wheelchair. She is living in a rental flat with her special-needs daughter – my aunt. She is deaf and mute and works PT in a school.

Her 2 other sons are in prison and her flat rental was $33 but recently increased to $111.

She needs grocery for the coming Hari Raya period. Thanks.

Any help is appreciated.

Naana

Source: Gilbert Goh

June 29, 2016
Ria 89.7 Listener: Contemporary Malay Songs Have No Soul, Meaning

Was listening to Ria 89.7 for the Raya vibes. I came to realize that Malay songs nowadays are so painfully absurd to hear. Imagine song titles like “Boleh Blah”, “Selfie” and some other stupid song titles with even shittier lyrics.

That’s Malay for you.

If it’s not a song about heartbreak, its a literally meaningless song about random stuffs.

The music industry is literally me-Layu-ing.

Call me an old soul, but at least SM Salim and gang have lots of meaningful advice in their songs for us.

Source: Mohsin Shafaruddin

June 29, 2016
Father Of Abused Toddler, Daniel: I Never Got To See My Son Alive

He was in prison when his son was born.

Day after day, he counted down the days to when he could hold his boy in his arms.

But when Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani could finally do that, it was too late.

The only time he got to hold Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser was when he was about to bury him.

His son died on Nov 23 last year, about a month before his third birthday, after 25 days of sustained abuse by his mother, Zaidah, 41, and her live-in boyfriend, Zaini Jamari, 46.

Choking back tears, Mr Nasser, 41, told The New Paper yesterday: “I never got to see him alive.

“The only time I held him in my arms, he was a lifeless corpse.”

Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani. TNP PHOTO: JEREMY LONG

He said he had spent 18 months behind bars from December 2012 to June 2014 for drug-related offences.

Two months before he went in, Mr Nasser was informed by Zaidah, whom he had married in Batam and later divorced, that she was pregnant with his child.

A few weeks into his sentence, Mr Nasser said an officer asked him to sign a document, which informed him that he was the father to a boy named Daniel.

This gave him something to look forward to after serving his time.

“I told myself that I would find my son after I got out,” said Mr Nasser, who works as a cleaner.

LONG SEARCH

But after his release, he found out that Zaidah was no longer living at her old address.

Making it his top priority to find Daniel, Mr Nasser reached out to Zaidah’s friends, tried all possible phone numbers he could think of and even visited places he thought she might frequent.

A year of searching yielded no results. None of his friends or acquaintances knew where Zaidah and Daniel were.

Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser died about a month before his third birthday. PHOTO: ABDU MANAF AL ANSARI

Frustrated by each failed attempt to find his boy, he started losing hope of ever meeting Daniel.

Mr Nasser, who has two older children from a previous marriage, said: “I was not even given a chance to meet my own son.

“I did everything I could, but they could not be found anywhere. I thought that I would never see or hear about Daniel ever again.”

About five months later, on the evening of Nov 26 last year, he finally got news about his son. It was a call from a police officer, who asked if he had a son named Daniel.

Mr Nasser excitedly said yes, thinking that after more than two years, they would finally get to meet. But what he thought was good news brought his world crashing down.

The officer told him the heartbreaking news that Daniel had died after being abused.

“I did not even get to see Daniel alive, and now they called me to identify his dead body,” Mr Nasser said.

Putting aside his anguish, Mr Nasser went to the mortuary the next day and saw his son for the first time.

It left him in tears.

CUTS AND BRUISES

“There were cuts and bruises everywhere on his tiny body,” he said.

“It broke my heart to look at him, my own flesh and blood, knowing that he had been hurt and tortured so badly.”

Mr Nasser collected Daniel’s body on Nov 30.

It was to be the first and last day that he would get to hold his son.

That same afternoon, he and seven of his family members buried Daniel.

Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani (extreme right) with his family members at the burial site of his son. PHOTO: ABDU MANAF AL ANSARI

His brother, Mr Abdu Manaf Al Ansari, said that though they did not get to know Daniel, the family loved him and wanted to make sure he was given the proper last rites.

“We are the paternal side that Daniel could have grown up with,” he told The New Paper.

“Daniel was not an outcast, not from a broken family. He had a good family, only that he was denied true love from us.”

Asked what he would have told his son if he were still alive, Mr Nasser broke down before saying he would have promised Daniel that he would be the best father possible.

“He was my own son, I did not get to do anything for him, did not get to hold him, or tell him that I love him,” he said.

“I would have given anything for the opportunity to take care of him.”

I did not even get to see Daniel alive, and now they called me to identify his dead body.

– Mr Mohamad Nasser Abdul Gani

We are the paternal side that Daniel could have grown up with. Daniel was not an outcast, not from a broken family. He had a good family, only that he was denied true love from us.

– Daniel’s uncle, Mr Abdu Manaf Al Ansari

ABOUT THE CASE

Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser, who died about a month short of his third birthday, was abused for 25 days over a 35-day period.

During that time, he was kicked and slapped almost every day by his pregnant mother and her boyfriend.

Cleaners Zaidah, 41, and Zaini Jamari, 46, also made Daniel stand with his hands on his head while wearing only a diaper as punishment.

They also forced him to eat spoonfuls of dried chilli.

He was found motionless on Nov 23, 2015, the morning after he fell and hit his head on the floor when Zaini kicked him.

An autopsy found that the cause of death was bleeding in the brain.

Last Thursday, Zaidah and Zaini were each convicted of three charges of child abuse and one count each of causing grievous hurt.

Zaidah admitted to 26 other charges of abusing Daniel, and Zaini to another 18 counts.

The couple will be sentenced next Tuesday.

Source: www.tnp.sg

June 29, 2016