Tag: Singaporeans

72 Year Old Man Jailed One Year For Molesting Maid

A 72-year-old man claimed that he was a doctor and instructed a maid to strip for health examination.

Chia Fook Kun later molested the 23-year-old maid, who was in his care as she was being investigated for stealing from her previous employer.

He was given one year in jail on Friday on one count of outrage of modesty, while two other charges were taken into consideration.

The court heard that Chia works part-time for a maid agency and would send domestic helpers from one location to another. He would also put up maids in his Jalan Minyak flat as and when required. On Nov 13 last year, the victim – who cannot be named because of a gag order – was arrested because she was caught stealing. Her agency had arranged for Chia to bail her out and to take custody of her during investigations.

The victim later asked Chia to help her as she did not want to go to jail.

Three days later, Chia lied to the victim that he was a doctor and showed her some photos and certificates on his computer to trick her into believing him.

After “examining” her with a blood pressure device and a stethoscope, he told her she was in poor health and he wanted to apply some cream on her chest.

Chia then made her go to the bedroom and remove her shirt and bra, before applying the cream on her breasts. He later unbuttoned her jeans but was interrupted by a phone call. While he was answering the phone, the victim dressed herself and left the room. She later made a police report.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) James Low called for a sentence of a year. He noted that Chia was also convicted of outrage of modesty in 2001 and was jailed for 15 months then. DPP Low added that the victim was vulnerable and Chia took advantage of her fear.

Another aggravating factor was the “significant degree of deception and premeditation” as Chia claimed he was a doctor and even produced documents to trick the victim though he was not medically trained, said DPP Low. “If not for his age, the prosecution would have sought a stiffer sentence.”

Chia’s lawyer Louis Joseph said that his client is in poor health and regretted his actions. He asked for a lighter sentence.

District Judge Liew Thiam Leng sentenced Chia to a year in jail, after considering the two other charges and his previous conviction. Chia asked to defer his sentence for two weeks and the judge raised his bail from $5,000 to $15,000.

He could have been jailed up to two years and fined.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
Mobile Air Employees Plead Not Guilty

Four former employees of the defunct Mobile Air shop at Sim Lim Square did not plead guilty to cheating offences yesterday despite earlier indicating they would do so.

Kam Kok Keong, 31; Edmund Lim Hong Ching, 33; and Kelvin Lim Zhi Wei, 32, yesterday asked the court for more time because they wanted to engage lawyers to “reduce charges”.

They each face one to eight cheating-related charges, with the amounts involved ranging from S$330 to S$3,710.

Koh Guan Seng, 38, the fourth accused, has engaged lawyer Edmund Wong, who told the court he had not been instructed if his client would plead guilty. Koh faces 15 charges of cheating involving S$9,789.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Lim said yesterday that she was prepared to proceed with seven charges against Koh and have the remaining eight taken into consideration for sentencing, if he pleaded guilty.

Kam will have four charges proceeded with and the remaining four will be taken into consideration for sentencing if he pleads guilty, she said.

All of the accused are out on bail and their cases have been set for a pre-trial conference on Thursday, the same day as that of co-accused and Mobile Air owner Jover Chew Chiew Loon.

Chew, 33, faces 25 cheating-related charges involving a total of S$14,449 as well as one charge of criminal intimidation.

Mobile Air gained infamy last year after Vietnamese tourist Pham Van Thoai was filmed going down on his knees to beg for a refund for a phone he had purchased from there. The shop also made the news for returning S$1,010 in coins to a customer. However, both victims are not named in the charges.

After the five men were arrested last month, the police said that their victims ended up paying for mobile phones at much higher prices or had to pay fees to cancel the deal.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 20, 2015
MUIS Announces Zakat Fitrah Rate For Ramadan

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has announced on Friday the “zakat fitrah” rates for this year’s Ramadan.

The normal rate is $4.90 for one person and the higher rate is $6.90. The rates are decided here by Muis, using the average price of 2.3kg of the grade of rice generally consumed by the Muslim community.

Zakat fitrah is a compulsory individual tax which Muslims pay during Ramadan. The money is distributed to the poor and needy among others.

Payment can be done by cash, cheque or Nets at all mosques, authorised Muslim organisations, Muis, AXS stations, through www.zakat.sg, and www.cimbclicks.com.sg.

Payment can also be made through a telephone service on 1900-112-3490 for $4.90, and 1900-112-3690 for $6.90, or through ATM and internet banking services by DBS or POSB banks.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
Two Friends Jailed Six Weeks Each For Gaffiti Spree

Two friends who went on a graffiti spree, vandalising public and private property, were each jailed for six weeks on Friday.

Security guard Muhammad Shukri Noordin, 26, and lab engineer Muhammad Ismail, 27, met during National Service and talked about their interest in graffiti.

At around 11pm on Feb 17 this year, they used a black permanent marker to vandalise a Land Transport Authority (LTA) overground street lighting box on North Bridge Road.

Four hours later they vandalised another LTA overground box along Hindoo Road, before targeting other areas including a pillar at the Singapore Pools Building at Middle Road, an SP Powergrid overground box, a wooden fence along Prinsep Street and a drainage wall beside Bugis MRT station.

Both pleaded guilty last month. Neither were represented in court on Friday.

They were each sentenced by District Judge Wong Choon Ning on four counts of mischief. Muhammad Shukri had five other charges taken into consideration, while Muhammad Ismail had four others.

Both have made compensation of $310 each to SMRT and SP Powergrid.

For mischief, they could have been jailed up to a year and fined.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 20, 2015
Remains Of TKPS Teacher, Student Arrive Home At Last

The remains of Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) teacher Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed and student Navdeep Singh Jaryal Raj Kumar — the last of the 10 from Singapore who died in the Sabah earthquake to be identified — were flown home yesterday.

Although their remains were identified last week, further DNA tests prevented an earlier return. The 10 were on a trip to Mount Kinabalu when an earthquake struck on June 5.

A funeral was held yesterday for Ghazi at Kampung Siglap Mosque, attended by a large crowd that included Ghazi’s family, friends, colleagues and students. At one point, mourners had to queue to enter the auditorium where his casket was held. Inside the auditorium, a bouquet of white flowers lay on top of Ghazi’s casket. Mourners surrounded the casket, many of them silent in prayer.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the funeral, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said: “I thank the Malaysian authorities for expediting the work to allow us to bring the bodies of Ghazi and Navdeep earlier than we had expected.”

Among the mourners was TKPS student Isaac Lee, one of Ghazi’s former students. The Primary 3 student said he always looked forward to Ghazi’s physical education classes, describing them as really fun.

A friend of Ghazi, who declined to be named, said the teacher’s passing was “a huge loss to the school”. “There’s hardly anything negative to say about him,” he said. “He was a true, loyal friend who helped you when you were in need.”

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, who also attended the funeral, was one of the pallbearers who helped carry Ghazi’s casket into the van that brought the body to Pusara Aman Muslim Cemetery in Lim Chu Kang for burial.

Holding back tears as he spoke to the media, Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said: “(He was) such a young man whom (according to) the stories you hear was selfless, very dedicated.”

He added: “I suppose the most important thing for us is … to perhaps take his spirit forward. The things that he has done for his schoolkids, for his family — you must find some way to (let his legacy live on).”

Speaking after the burial, Mr Mohd Faizal, one of Ghazi’s colleagues from TKPS, said Ghazi, who leaves behind a wife and three children, was “happy-go-lucky”.

“I never saw him under stress, and it rubbed off on all of us,” said Mr Faizal, 28. “I have lost an elder brother. He was more than a colleague, and that will never change.”

Mr Heng said support would continue to be provided to the family members and students affected by the earthquake. “Our students in Tanjong Katong Primary School are recovering well. They are doing fine, and the principal and school leaders have put up a plan to bring them back to school when school reopens so that they can continue with a normal routine,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 20, 2015