Foreign talent's contributions to Singapore

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Former Mandai Hill Camp cook jailed 6 weeks for molesting cleaner multiple times​

Lee/CanvaHe Yanjun began touching the victim inappropriately in December 2019.

BY LOUISA TANG
Published May 26, 2022


SINGAPORE — When a cleaner working at Mandai Hill Camp wanted to ward off a colleague’s advances, she sprayed him with water till he walked away.
However, this did not stop He Yanjun from molesting her on more occasions, eventually leading her to complain to their supervisor and file a police report.
On Thursday (May 26), He was sentenced to six weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to two molestation charges. Four other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
The 45-year-old permanent resident, who hails from China, worked as a cook at the Singapore Armed Forces camp located along Mandai Road during his offences in 2020.
The victim, 47, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.

The court heard that He began touching her inappropriately from December 2019 onwards, such as by pinching her buttocks and hugging her from behind when nobody was looking.
She had begun work there in February 2019, while He had started working there a year earlier.
She tried to stay vigilant about his presence to avoid his touch but he was still able to catch her off-guard. Their job responsibilities sometimes overlapped, such as He instructing the victim to clean food trays or mop floors, prosecutors told the court.
On Jan 17, 2020, the victim was cleaning the floor of the non-Muslim cookhouse with a spray hose. As she bent down to do so, He approached her from behind, put his forearms around her midriff and hugged her from behind.
She then angled the water hose she was using over her shoulder to spray him with water.
He let go, went in front of her and bent the hose neck to prevent more water from flowing out. She then grabbed a second water hose lying on the floor and brandished it at him, which prompted him to walk away.

He molested her twice more that month — once by placing his hands around her outside the men’s toilet.
On the other occasion, he hugged her from behind and held onto her wrist while she was in a storeroom looking for gloves.
Fearful that no one would come to her aid, she struggled to break free but he tightened his grip. She then lowered herself until she was lying on the floor.
He let go of her and walked out of the storeroom.
On Feb 14, 2020, after he had pinched her buttock, she decided to complain about him to their supervisor who initiated internal investigations and asked if she wanted to make a police report against He.
She was escorted to Bukit Panjang Neighbourhood Police Centre to do so three days later.
The prosecution sought six to eight weeks’ jail, noting that there was an element of restraint in his offences when he hugged the victim from behind and she could not free herself.
For each outrage of modesty offence, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of the three.

 

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Future for Singapore start-up Zilingo remains unclear after firing of CEO Ankiti Bose​

Ms Ankiti Bose was fired following an investigation into complaints of serious financial irregularities. ST PHOTO: FELINE LIM

Choo Yun Ting
Business Correspondent

MAY 28, 2022

SINGAPORE - In 2015, Ms Ankiti Bose and Mr Dhruv Kapoor launched Zilingo in Singapore, touting it as a site where small fashion merchants from cities like Bangkok could grow an online presence.
The idea was born after she visited Bangkok's Chatuchak market and felt there could be a huge demand if the merchants' goods were sold online.
In 2018, the start-up moved into other business-to-business segments.
Ms Bose, now 30, was the chief executive, and Mr Kapoor, now 31, who was her neighbour in Bangalore, its chief technology and product officer. She was based in Bangkok and later Singapore, and he in India.
The company had seemed on course to grow and transform fashion supply chains. It last raised US$226 million (S$311 million) at a valuation of US$970 million in 2019, in a round led by its key investor Sequoia Capital India.
Other investors that participated included Singapore's Temasek and Burda Principal Investments, which is based in Germany. That brought the total amount raised by the company to US$308 million.
Its Singapore office is in Bendemeer and the company has around 500 employees across eight countries.

Several members of Zilingo's board stepped down in March and April this year - Sequoia Capital India's managing director Shailendra Singh, Temasek's Xu Wei Yang, former Burda Principal Investments managing director for Asia Albert Shyy, and Mr Andre Soelistyo, CEO of GoTo.
On April 12, Bloomberg reported that Ms Bose had been suspended from her duties after efforts to raise funds led to questions about the firm's accounts.
The report said she was called to a meeting with three board members on March 31 and told about "serious" complaints about discrepancies in accounts and mismanagement.

In a May 27 article, Bloomberg reported that the allegations of financial irregularities included questions about Zilingo's accounting practices and payments to several service providers that were signed by Ms Bose without the knowledge of senior executives.
Regulatory filings show the start-up last filed financial statements for 2019.
On May 20, Zilingo said it had fired Ms Bose "following an investigation led by an independent forensics firm that was commissioned to look into complaints of serious financial irregularities". It added that it "reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action".


It is not clear what Zilingo's next steps are. The company did not respond to queries about a new CEO and information on its investigations.
In its May 20 statement, Zilingo said that following the recall of loans by debt holders, an independent financial adviser was appointed to assess options for the business and more information will be provided in due course.
In 2020, amid Covid-19, Zilingo laid off staff as it downsized operations in markets like Singapore and Indonesia. The leadership team also took a pay cut.
Commenting on corporate governance issues faced by start-ups, Professor Aris Stouraitis from Hong Kong Baptist University told The Straits Times that recent cases, such as that of health-tech start-up Theranos in the United States, have highlighted how the monitoring of management may be absent in start-ups.
Proper corporate governance and information disclosure are important, he said, and it is imperative for venture capital firms and other non-founding shareholders who have provided capital to play a diligent monitoring role. The role of auditors is also crucial, he added.

 

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'This is my life, this is my reputation': Zilingo's ex-CEO Ankiti Bose speaks out after her firing​

Choo Yun Ting
Business Correspondent


MAY 28, 2022

SINGAPORE - A week after she was fired from fashion e-commerce platform Zilingo, co-founder and former chief executive Ankiti Bose continues to refer to it as her "baby".
"Not a day in the last six and a half, almost seven, years has been a holiday. It's been, you know, all about this baby. Mine," she said.
"So it's been incredibly hard, and I don't know if I'm going to get all the answers."
In an interview with The Straits Times last Thursday (May 26), Ms Bose spoke of her sense of loss after being kicked out of the company she started, and how she wanted to find answers.
On March 31, the 30-year-old was suspended from her duties at Zilingo after shareholders and the company's board received complaints of alleged financial irregularities.
On May 20, Zilingo said she had been fired following an investigation into the complaints and that it "reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action".
The start-up was co-founded in 2015 by Ms Bose and Mr Dhruv Kapoor, the company's chief technology and product officer, and attracted investors such as Sequoia Capital India, Burda Principal Investments and Singapore state investor Temasek.

Over the years, the young, eloquent Ms Bose became the face of Zilingo, appearing at global conferences alongside established industry peers. She was featured in Fortune's 40 Under 40 in 2019 and, together with Mr Kapoor, made Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 list in 2018.
In a 90-minute interview at her apartment in central Singapore, she appeared confident as she talked about her desire to defend her reputation and how she was determined to communicate with the company's stakeholders.
On her sacking, which she found out via an e-mail sent to her from the company, she said it came as a surprise.

"I was keen to have more conversations and provide more explanation... about what was going on," she said.
Ms Bose, an Indian national and a Singapore permanent resident, said she has yet to see the report from the investigations commissioned by Zilingo to look into claims of financial irregularities.
Her termination letter also cited "insubordination" as one of the reasons for her firing, she said.
"I have still not seen the report used to terminate me or had a chance to contest it," she said.
She added that she has been spending time trying to speak with shareholders and ex-colleagues to understand what is going on with the company.

Ms Bose said she has not been allowed to speak with shareholders, whom she said she was "very, very close to", over the past two months. Her recent communications with the company and its board have largely been through legal representatives.
"People keep asking me, why are you fighting so hard to find answers? But you know, I just turned 30, this is my life, this is my reputation. This is everything to me. It means more than anything else for me to speak to my shareholders and my stakeholders and my employees, to understand what has happened and explain my position."
She added: "I think it's important that we also think in a way that is constructive and reconciliatory between stakeholders so that we might do what's good for the company and its hundreds of employees. I don't know if that's possible, but I hope so."
An only child, Ms Bose grew up in Mumbai, where she attended RN Podar School, a private secondary school, and St Xavier's College, a private autonomous higher education institution, where she studied economics.
She started her career at consultancy firm McKinsey & Co in Mumbai before moving to Sequoia Capital's office in Bangalore. She left the venture capital company to start Zilingo with Mr Kapoor.
She has been living in Singapore for the past four years and her parents are currently living with her in her rented apartment, a spacious unit with furnishings in neutral tones of white, grey and brown. She declined to have her home photographed.
In an Instagram post last Friday, Ms Bose said she had to deal with hate messages and threats of violence, and that her personal photos and other documents may have been improperly accessed and circulated on the Internet.

She told ST she barely left her apartment during the period she was suspended other than to take occasional walks. She spoke to her lawyers mostly through video-conferencing or e-mail.
"I've barely slept in the last two months," she added.
Asked about the alleged financial irregularities surrounding Zilingo, she said the pandemic was a tough period for the start-up and it had to take the difficult decision to restructure some of its teams.
She had been aware there were delays in its financial reporting. Regulatory checks show the start-up last filed financial statements for 2019.
Zilingo had a finance team of over 20 people as well as a Big Four firm auditor and Big Four adviser, she said.
"While I was still CEO, we were waiting for the proper advice from them on how to take things forward," she said. "I couldn't touch the accounts since I'm not a qualified chartered accountant."

Zilingo co-founder and former chief executive Ankiti Bose spoke of her sense of loss after being kicked out of the company she started, and how she wanted to find answers. ST PHOTO: FELINE LIM
She said it is common for many start-ups to be late in filing their accounts and it was a particular struggle in 2020 and 2021 given the pandemic, but "it's not an excuse".
She said she is in the dark about where the company is headed, but she meanwhile retains an 8 per cent stake in the firm, the same as Mr Kapoor.
Asked what her next steps are, she said: "I think I would love to still see what is the best thing that can be done for the company in this current situation."
Hundreds of people have spent countless sleepless nights to build the company, she said.
"I want to be positive, but I think it's important for me to find out what happened and try to help... to steer the ship forward," she said.

 

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Genki Sushi store manager jailed for embezzling more than S$56,000 from sushi chain​

Ili Nadhirah Mansor/TODAY
Cheah Chen Cay arrives at the State Courts on June 6, 2022.

BY

LOW YOUJIN​

Published June 6, 2022

SINGAPORE — A Genki Sushi store manager who embezzled more than S$56,000 over six months was on Monday (June 6) jailed for five months.
Cheah Chen Cay, a 27-year-old Malaysian, had pleaded guilty to committing criminal breach of trust.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chong Kee En said that Cheah was previously a store manager at the sushi chain’s Orchard Central outlet — a position he had held since January 2020.
As part of his duties, Cheah was required to deposit the cash proceeds from the daily sales into the company’s bank account on a daily basis the next morning.
On 23 separate occasions between June and December of 2020, he misappropriated a total of S$56,119.30 from the company’s safe.
The theft only came to light in January last year when the finance department of Maxim, the parent company of Genki, did a thorough check of the accounts receivable for the sushi chain and discovered discrepancies.
Cheah was questioned during an internal investigation but he pretended that he could not remember what happened to the stolen money.
However, as he was afraid of the probe into the missing money, Cheah deposited S$32,215 into the company’s account on June 21 that year.
But as the source of the deposit was unknown, further investigations were carried out by Maxim.
Cheah was re-interviewed and he finally confessed to having stolen the money after he was questioned by several heads of department. He also admitted that he had kept the rest of the undeposited money at home.
When the police raided his house, however, they were only able to recover S$20,664.60 which was kept in 23 separate plastic bags, said DPP Chong, who sought a jail term of between five and six months.
Cheah made a restitution of S$3,239.70 to Genki on Monday, months after his employment was terminated by Genki on Sept 15 last year.
Under Section 467 of the Penal Code, anyone who commits a criminal breach of trust can be jailed up to seven years, or fined, or both.

 

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Jail for S'pore PR over false declaration so he could serve SHN at home amid Covid-19 outbreak​

Taiwanese Lu Yi Yin was sentenced to three weeks' jail after he pleaded guilty. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

June 14, 2022

SINGAPORE - A Singapore permanent resident, who arrived at Changi Airport from Taiwan amid the Covid-19 outbreak on July 14 last year, lied on his declaration form for travellers so that he could serve his stay-home notice (SHN) at home.
Taiwanese Lu Yi Yin, 49, was on Tuesday (June 14) sentenced to three weeks' jail after he pleaded guilty to an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act.
Lu claimed on the declaration form that he had met the conditions to opt out of serving his SHN at a dedicated facility.
He declared that he would be serving his SHN either alone at home or with household members with the same travel history who were also serving their SHN during the same period.
But when officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) house visit team went to his Choa Chu Kang home the next day, they found his wife and daughter in the same unit.
The pair did not share the same travel history as him and they were also not serving their SHN during the same period.
The officers told Lu that he had to immediately go to a dedicated facility to serve his SHN. A swab test done on him returned a negative result for Covid-19.

The court heard that at the time of the offence, Singapore citizens and permanent residents who had visited only Taiwan in the 21 consecutive days before their departure to Singapore could opt out of serving their 14-day SHN at a dedicated facility.
Instead, they could serve it at home if they met the conditions which Lu had unlawfully claimed to have fulfilled.
While he was still in Taiwan, Lu had made an application online using his Singpass and opted out of serving his SHN at a dedicated facility upon his arrival in Singapore.

On July 14 last year, he arrived at Changi Airport and an ICA officer attended to him.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Foong Ke Hui said Lu informed the officer that he had successfully opted out of serving his SHN at a dedicated facility.
The officer then handed Lu a declaration form for travellers who have opted out, and the Taiwanese signed it.
Lu then went home but was caught the next day.

On Tuesday, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence him to at least three weeks' jail, adding: "The accused had multiple opportunities to correct his mistake, but he chose not to do so.
"The accused... had no choice but to admit that he made a false declaration after ICA officers witnessed the accused's wife and daughter in his place of residence."
Lu is out on bail of $5,000 and he will start serving his sentence on Friday.
For committing the offence under the Act, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.
A repeat offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $20,000.

 

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Jail for construction site supervisor who ignored safety protocols, leading to worker's death​

Osmond Chia

June 15, 2022

SINGAPORE - A construction site supervisor disregarded demolition safety protocols and instructed his men to hack away parts of a two-storey house, beginning from the ground level.
As a result, the balcony slab above where a worker was working collapsed, killing him and causing another worker to suffer severe fractures.
The supervisor, Malaysian Kong Chiew Fook, 53, was on Wednesday (June 15) jailed for 11 months after he pleaded guilty to committing a negligent act which led to the death of a worker and serious injuries to another.
Kong was a construction manager at Springview Enterprises and was supervising workers in a project to reconstruct a two-storey house in Aroozoo Avenue in Hougang between December 2018 and August 2019, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecuting officer Mohd Fadhli told the court.
To reconstruct the house, existing structures had to be torn down and the owner engaged professional engineer Tiong Hoo Tuong to prepare a demolition plan, method statement and structural drawings.
These were necessary for the works to be permitted.
Kong was given a copy of the plans and oversaw the project.

On March 4, 2019, Kong instructed three workers, whose names were given only as Mr Santo, Mr Ponnir and Mr Ddin Shahab, to carry out hacking work at the premises.
They worked on the second floor and were instructed by Kong to hack the walls of a toilet and the parapet wall of the back balcony.
Kong then left for another worksite, leaving the men unsupervised.

Once they completed the tasks at 1pm, Mr Ponnir erected a one-tier scaffold as a platform for the hacking of the top of the wall of the back balcony.
At 1.40pm, Mr Santo took over and hacked the parapet wall on the second floor. At that moment, the floor slab of the balcony at level two collapsed, pinning Mr Santo underneath it, said the prosecution.
Mr Ponnir, who was working on the one-tier scaffold, was also thrown off.
Workers rushed to the site and used an excavator to lift up the floor slab before Mr Santo was pulled out.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and reportedly died of head injuries.
Mr Ponnir suffered multiple fractures and was hospitalised for two months.
Investigations showed that Kong had been provided with the demolition documents which clearly stated that the works were to be carried out with established safety protocols.
Before the works, he was also reminded by Springview director Heng Kong Chuan to adopt a top-down approach for the demolition works, a method of starting from the roof to the ground which would help ensure the structural stability of the building, said Mr Fadhli.
But Kong disregarded these rules and told his men to follow an unsafe demolition sequence, hacking away the supporting walls of the back balcony at the ground floor a month before the balcony floor slab above.
As a result, the balcony floor slab was unsupported and left in a cantilevered position without any supporting pillars and was prone to collapse, said the prosecution, adding that this scenario was cautioned against in the paperwork.
Mr Fadhli said: "He assumed that the balcony floor slab was strong enough to hold on its own. This assumption was based solely on his experience, contrary to the demolition plan, method statement and instructions prior to the start of works."
"His actions resulted in the collapse of the balcony slab, and the resulting death (of Mr Santo) and the said injuries to Ponnir," Mr Fadhli added, seeking between 12 and 14 months' jail for Kong.
Urging the judge to sentence Kong to not more than 10 months' jail, defence lawyer Marshall Lim said Kong had a clean record and asked for compassion as he was the sole breadwinner for his family and Kong and his wife were not well.
He added that Kong believed the cantilevered balcony was stable since the first-floor structures supporting it had been removed a month prior to the accident.
District Judge Janet Wang said Kong had a false sense of complacency.
"The lack of a greater degree of supervision over the demolition works is glaring," she added.
MOM said on Wednesday that Springview and its director have also been charged for failing to take reasonably practicable steps in ensuring their workers' safety.
Mr Sebastian Tan, MOM's director of Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, reminded contractors to conduct thorough risk assessments for any demolition works and to communicate the plan clearly to the team.
He added: "Under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, we can hold managers or supervisors personally accountable for safety and health lapses, as shown by Kong's imprisonment."
For committing a negligent act which endangers the safety and health of others, Kong could have been jailed for up to two years and fined a maximum of $30,000.

 

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Woman, 73, found guilty of intentionally splashing hot soup on fellow tenant​

Yeap Kim Ngoh (above) did not dispute that some of the soup she was cooking had landed on Ms Jin Pingping. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

June 16, 2022

SINGAPORE - She could not get along with a fellow tenant in their Jalan Besar home and the two women often squabbled with each other.
Yeap Kim Ngoh, now 73, was then in a relationship with the landlord of the property, and the prosecution said that previously, there was "an indication" that the other resident, Ms Jin Pingping, was also his girlfriend.
"This complicated matters between the parties," added Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee. Ms Jin's age and that of the landlord were not disclosed in court documents.
Tension between the two women came to a head on Feb 4, 2020, when Yeap, a Malaysian, splashed some hot soup on Ms Jin, injuring her.
The court heard that Ms Jin, who was not working at the time, was in pain for about a month following the incident.
After a trial, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt on Thursday (June 16) found Yeap guilty of using a heated substance to voluntarily hurt her victim.
According to court documents, both women were tenants of a living area above a shophouse in Jalan Besar.

The DPP said in his submissions: "There was some tension between the pair since they got to know (each) another, and the evidence from both parties is that they would avoid each other to avoid getting into quarrels.
"Both have testified that these quarrels would also be fairly frequent but the disagreements were limited to verbal disputes."
He said that on the night of Feb 4, 2020, Yeap quarrelled with Ms Jin over the use of the cooking area. At the time, Yeap was cooking some seafood soup in a metal pot.

During the trial, Ms Jin, who was living in the property with her grandchild at the time of the incident, testified that she was walking past Yeap towards a toilet when she felt some hot soup on her back.
The prosecutor told Judge Chay: "Jin was shocked and angered, and both she and the accused got into a loud argument again, where (the landlord) and other tenants came in to separate the parties."

Ms Jin later lodged a police report about the attack.
She also went to the Singapore General Hospital, where she was found to have sustained injuries, including superficial burns on the back of her neck and upper back.
Yeap, who is represented by lawyers Michael S. Chia and Wang Shi Mei, did not dispute that some of the soup she was cooking had landed on Ms Jin.
DPP Gwee added: "The defence had contended that the accused was startled by Jin and the accused's act of splashing the soup on Jin was accidental.
"The accused also testified that the soup was not boiling at the material time. The accused had contended that only 'a bit of soup landed on (Jin)' and it was Jin's wet clothing (resulting from the soup) that worsened the injury."
Before convicting Yeap on Thursday, Judge Chay said he did not find her to be a credible witness.
Her mitigation and sentencing will be held on June 30.
For voluntarily causing hurt with a heated substance, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned. Men over 50 years old and women cannot be caned.

 

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Woman jailed for threatening to send lover's nude photo to his mum and girlfriend​

Wong Shiying

JUN 21, 2022

SINGAPORE - A 39-year-old woman threatened to send a man's nude photo to his mother and girlfriend if he did not give her $2,500.
She also flouted Covid-19 rules by attending a birthday party with 13 others in July last year when the maximum group size for social gatherings was five.
Zhang Xilin was on Tuesday (June 21) sentenced to nine weeks' jail and a $2,000 fine.
She had pleaded guilty to one count each of threatening to distribute intimate images and breaching the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
The court heard that Zhang befriended the man through an online platform on June 1 last year. They met for meals and spent time in the apartment the man rented.
He gave her gifts and money as he liked her, and they video-called each other while nude or performing intimate acts.
The man also told Zhang that he would give her about $2,500 so she could pay her agency fees and quit her job.

Court documents did not state what she was working as at the time.
On June 16 last year, the man sent a nude shot of himself to Zhang. It showed his face and private parts.
A few days later on June 21, the man blocked Zhang on WhatsApp and Telegram after his girlfriend confronted him about having an affair.
But he unblocked her soon after and told her that he would help with her agency fees.
On June 23, Zhang threatened to send his naked photo to his mother and girlfriend if he continued to ignore her.
She then sent text messages to the man's mother and girlfriend asking to speak to them.
Alarmed by Zhang's threats, the man made a police report.
For threatening to distribute intimate images, Zhang could have been jailed for up to five years, fined and caned.
The maximum penalty for breaching the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act is six months' jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

 

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Woman gets 5 weeks' jail for failing to stay home after being given MC amid Covid-19 pandemic​

Michelle Foo Shi Ching had pleaded guilty on Jan 31 this year. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

June 22, 2022

SINGAPORE - A woman who walked her son to his pre-school during the Covid-19 outbreak even though she supposed to stay at home was on Wednesday (June 22) sentenced to five weeks' jail.
Michelle Foo Shi Ching, now 25, also took a private-hire car to MacPherson before making her way to Great World City shopping centre in Kim Seng Promenade, where she met four friends for a movie on July 17, 2020.
The Malaysian woman, who is a Singapore permanent resident, had pleaded guilty on Jan 31 this year to two charges under the Infectious Diseases Act.
During an earlier proceeding, defence lawyer Mohamed Arshad told the court that according to a psychiatrist, Foo was likely to be suffering from an adjustment disorder at the time of the offences.
District Judge Marvin Bay then called for a report to assess her suitability for a mandatory treatment order (MTO).
Offenders given an MTO will undergo treatment for their mental conditions in lieu of jail time.
After receiving a report from the Institute of Mental Health, the judge gave Foo a jail sentence on Wednesday, adding: "I note that... (her) condition of adjustment disorder with depressed mood might not have met the criteria meriting (an MTO)."

Judge Bay, however, noted that Foo is a "fairly youthful offender" who had an "extremely fractious relationship" with her husband.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lee told the court in January that Foo had gone to a clinic on July 14, 2020, after she complained of a sore throat and cough.
A doctor then diagnosed her with an upper respiratory tract infection and issued her a medical certificate (MC), stressing that she was required by law to stay home for five days.

The doctor also told Foo that she was not supposed to leave her home for any purpose except to seek urgent medical attention. Foo accepted the MC and understood the terms.
Despite these, she left her Bedok North flat at around 9.15am on July 17, 2020, and walked her son to a nearby PAP Community Foundation Sparkletots pre-school.
After that, Foo walked home before she took a private hire car to a block of flats in MacPherson Lane at around 3.30pm that day.

About two hours later, she took another private-hire car to Great World City, where she met her friends for a movie.
She took a taxi home when the movie ended, only to reoffend at around 3.30am the next day.
This time, she took a private-hire car to the MacPherson Lane flat and returned to her home about seven hours later.
Court documents do not disclose how her offences came to light but when caught, she initially denied leaving her home during the duration of her MC.
The DPP had said: "She only admitted after (she) was confronted with the evidence. The accused admitted that she knew that it was an offence to leave her (home) during the duration of the MC but she 'did not think too much about it' when she did so."

Foo's bail was set at $2,000 on Wednesday and she was ordered to surrender herself at the State Courts on Friday to begin serving her sentence.
For committing an offence under the Infectious Diseases Act, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000.
A repeat offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $20,000.

 

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Woman with abusive boyfriend was choked in public, punched, threatened with knives​

Alex Green/PexelsPaartiban Maniam pleaded guilty to numerous charges of assaulting and threatening to kill his girlfriend.

• Paartiban Maniam was dating a colleague eight years older than him
• He assaulted and threatened to kill her on several occasions
• After they broke up, he smashed her mobile phone and choked her with his hand

LOUISA TANG​

Published June 22, 2022

SINGAPORE — Over two months this year, a factory operator terrorised his girlfriend by beating her, smashing her phone after swallowing a SIM card, tearing up her passport and choking her with his hand.
For what he did, Paartiban Maniam was on Wednesday (June 22) sentenced to seven months and three weeks’ jail.
This was backdated to March 12 when he was arrested and remanded.
The 30-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty to two charges each of criminal intimidation, committing mischief and causing hurt to his partner. He was intoxicated on all these occasions.
District Judge James Elisha Lee took into consideration six other similar charges for sentencing purposes.

The court heard that Paartiban dated his 38-year-old colleague for about two to three years. They lived together with her uncle in Singapore from December last year until Jan 23, when he first assaulted her.
She ended the relationship around early March.
Paartiban had gone out for drinks with his friends on Jan 23 before getting into a dispute with the victim over the phone.
When he got home, he accused her of being with another man and verbally abused her.
When her uncle took them down to the void deck of the housing block where he lived in order to settle matters, Paartiban slapped and punched his girlfriend. The older man had to tell him to stop.
Back at the uncle’s flat, Paartiban placed a kitchen knife close to his girlfriend’s neck, threatening to kill her. He later struck her head with a wooden kitchen towel holder.

Upset, she wrestled the holder from him and hit him with it, too. Her uncle eventually called the police.
Paartiban was arrested before being released on police bail.
About a month later, on Feb 28, Paartiban had moved out of the flat but returned.
When his girlfriend refused to let him in, he dislodged the metal gate at the main door by pulling it away from the wall forcefully. He then entered the flat, snatched her phone away and punched her face.
During their argument, he pointed a fruit knife at her chest and said in Tamil that he would “definitely kill” her. He later pointed a pair of scissors at her abdomen area, threatening once again to kill her.
She managed to calm him down and he put the scissors down before punching her shoulder.

Afraid of what he would do, she complied with his instructions to pack her belongings and leave with him. All this time, he continued to shout at her, punched her shoulder again, then tore up her Malaysian passport.
Upon getting to the ground floor of the block, she cooked up an excuse, walked away and asked a passer-by to call the police for her.
Paartiban was arrested and released on police bail once more.

SWALLOWED HER SIM CARD​

On March 11, he asked her to return his clothes to him.
He took her to a multi-storey car park and said that he wanted to kill her that very day.
She refused to get into a taxi that he had hailed, so he took her to a bench near 223 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh instead.
When she sat on the bench, he fished a metal bottle cap from his pocket, bit it to sharpen it, and placed it at her neck.
He then checked her phone, said that she had called other men the previous day, swallowed her SIM card and smashed the phone against the bench several times before pocketing it. He also swung a bottle of alcohol towards her head but missed.
He proceeded to drink the alcoholic beverage and smashed the bottle before placing it near her neck. He also said that he would kill her that same day before killing himself.
He then picked up some shards from the bottle and asked her to follow him.
As she was drinking some water, he put his arm around her neck and choked her with his hand. A police patrol car then passed them, prompting him to leave.
She then approached the police for assistance.
The prosecution sought seven to 10 months’ jail for Paartiban.
For criminal intimidation, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.
For voluntarily causing hurt, he could have been jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or both. And for committing mischief, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.

 

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18 months' probation for S'pore PR who posted anti-Islam remarks online​

Sun Sicong pleaded guilty in May to uploading online remarks with the intention of wounding the religious feelings of others. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

June, 23 2022

SINGAPORE - A youth who had posted anti-Islam remarks on social media platform Instagram was sentenced to 18 months' probation on Thursday (June 23)
As part of his probation, Chinese national Sun Sicong, now 21, has to remain indoors from 10pm to 6am every day and perform 60 hours of community service.
His parents are also bonded for $5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.
The Temasek Polytechnic (TP) student, who is a Singapore permanent resident, pleaded guilty in May to uploading online remarks with the intention of wounding the religious feelings of others.
He committed the offence between 2018 and 2019.
Two other charges, including one count of harassment, were considered during sentencing.
Initially, no police reports were filed over the offensive Insta-story posts on Sun's Instagram account.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Senthilkumaran Sabapathy had told the court: "The offensive posts, however, resurfaced online some time around June 7, 2020, after the accused created and uploaded online further insensitive Insta-story posts... containing a screenshot of a rape victim's recount of her rape ordeal along with (lewd and obscenity-laden) comments."
Other Instagram users became upset when they saw Sun's posts and responded to him.

They then referred to screenshots of his earlier anti-Islam posts, which went viral soon after.
The posts were widely disseminated over the Internet and police later received 62 reports from members of the public who felt threatened and alarmed after seeing the anti-Islam posts.
In an earlier statement, the police said that in June 2020, they received "many reports regarding an Instagram user who had posted insensitive comments and threats that could incite violence against the Muslim community".
The police added that the posts contained hate comments that could wound religious feelings.

In their statement, the police also said that they take a serious view of acts that have the potential to damage racial and religious harmony in Singapore.
Defence lawyer Justin Ng told District Judge Kessler Soh in May that his client was around 18 when he made the posts and had committed the offence due to "youthful immaturity".
Earlier, TP told The Straits Times that Sun had been suspended for two consecutive semesters following investigations in June 2020.
An offender convicted of uploading online remarks with the intention to wound another person's religious feelings can be jailed for up to three years and fined.

 

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Week's jail for man who lied about wife's whereabouts after she drove into lamp post in Sentosa​

The woman collided with the lamp post along Allanbrooke Road and drove off. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS
Samuel Devaraj

June 29, 2022

SINGAPORE - When police officers came to his door looking for his wife, Claus Nicolajsen lied that she was not at home.
The officers had come to the Sentosa Cove condominium unit to give her a breathalyser test after she drove into a lamp post following drinks at a golf club.
Nicolajsen, 45, who is Danish, was sentenced to one week's jail on Wednesday (June 29) after he pleaded guilty to a charge of giving a public servant information he knew to be false.
His lawyer, Mr Ong Ying Ping, indicated he will be appealing the sentence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao told the court that Nicolajsen's wife, Liu Xia, left home on Oct 22, 2019 to spend the afternoon with her friends at Sentosa Golf Club, where she consumed wine during dinner.
DPP Lee said: "She informed (her husband) that she would be at the Sentosa Golf Club and (he) was aware that she would drink alcohol with her friends."
Liu left the golf club at around 9.30pm to return home and while driving back, collided with the lamp post along Allanbrooke Road and drove off.

Nicolajsen met up with Liu at their car park and also met a Sentosa ranger there, who told him his wife had collided into something while driving earlier.
On Oct 23, 2019, at or about 12.30am, a traffic police officer accompanied by several other police officers, a Sentosa ranger, and a security officer from the condominium went to the couple's unit to speak to Liu.
Nicolajsen, who answered the door, told them his wife was not home but at Holland Village with her friends, a lie he repeated multiple times.

The traffic police officer asked Nicolajsen to call her and the latter went into the unit apparently to do so. He emerged shortly after and said he tried to call his wife.
After speaking with the officer for a while, Nicolajsen expressed irritation that the officer was there speaking to him after midnight after he had repeatedly denied that he had came up the lift with his wife.
Said DPP Lee: "The accused confirmed once more that his wife was in Holland Village and emphasised that he had repeated this statement '500 times'."
After confirming with condominium security officers that Liu had not left the condominium, the group of officers and the ranger went to the back door of the unit and asked to enter it.

Nicolajsen did not allow them to do so and the traffic police officer gave Nicolajsen his name and contact number and told him to inform Liu to report to Traffic Police headquarters later that morning.
A breathalyser test was conducted on Liu at the headquarters on Oct 23, 2019 at around 11am, more than 12 hours after the collision.
"The significant lapse of time resulted in the police being unable to obtain a reliable or accurate test of Liu Xia's breath or blood alcohol level around the time of the accident," said DPP Lee.
On Oct 25, 2019, Nicolajsen went to the Traffic Police headquarters and provided a statement, claiming he did not know where his wife was at that time, but that she had texted him to say she was at Holland Village.
On March 15 last year, Liu was fined $1,400 and disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for three months after pleading guilty to two offences under the Road Traffic Act.

DPP Lee asked for a two- to three-week jail sentence for Nicolajsen, saying: "The accused's false statements caused appreciable harm primarily because he perverted the course of justice by shielding Liu Xia from possible prosecution for drink driving and a potential conviction and mandatory disqualification from driving."
Mr Ong objected the imposition of a jail sentence for his client, saying it was not appropriate to infer that Nicolajsen's knowledge about the accident translated into him knowing that his wife was being investigated for drink driving.
Said Mr Ong: "I would agree that the custodial threshold would be crossed if the (traffic police officer) had stated he was investigating Ms Liu Xia for drink driving and the accused responded with that false information that she was in Holland Village. But this not what happened here."
Nicolajsen will be out on bail pending the outcome of his appeal.
For giving information he knew to be false to a public servant, Nicolajsen could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

4 years’ jail, caning for youth who sexually assaulted unconscious schoolmate after night of drinking​

TODAY file photoA 20-year-old was sentenced to jail and caning for sexually assaulting his schoolmate after a night of drinking.

• A group of friends had alcoholic drinks to celebrate the reopening of school in 2020
• One of them then vomited in the toilet and lost consciousness
• Her schoolmate got her to his bed and sexually violated her before falling asleep next to her

BY

LOUISA TANG​

Published June 30, 2022


SINGAPORE — What started as a night of drinking to celebrate the opening of the school year turned into a nightmare for a 19-year-old, after she lost consciousness and was sexually assaulted by her schoolmate.
On Thursday (June 30), a judge rejected less severe sentencing options that are usually offered to young offenders, instead meting out a four-year jail term along with two strokes of the cane to the 20-year-old offender.
The accused cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity. He was aged 18 when he violated her in August 2020.
Both the accused and victim are from China and were studying in Singapore.
The accused pleaded guilty earlier this year to a single charge of sexual assault by penetration.

On the evening of Aug 1, 2020, they had gone to the accused's apartment to celebrate the reopening of school along with three other friends, the court heard.
The group shared a bottle each of whiskey and vodka. The victim drank multiple shots of liquor and became “severely intoxicated”, Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Delicia Tan and Andre Chong told the court.
Around 10.30pm, she went to the ensuite toilet of the accused’s room to vomit.
When she stayed there for 20 minutes and did not respond to him knocking on the door, he forcefully opened it in the presence of their other friends. He then saw her slumped over the toilet bowl.
Their friends left the apartment shortly after. A short while later, he realised the victim had vomited all over the toilet floor.
She asked him to get her mobile phone so she could call her boyfriend to pick her up, but he could not find her device.

He then pulled her up from the floor and threw her face down on his bed. She soon blacked out.
He proceeded to sexually assault her at this point for a few seconds. He knew she was not conscious and could not consent to his actions, said the DPPs.
She realised what he was doing when she briefly regained consciousness and asked him to call her boyfriend. He then stopped and masturbated before falling asleep.
Around 1.30am, one of their friends, who was also the accused’s housemate, returned home and tried to open the accused's room door but discovered it was locked.
The victim woke up around 4am and found the accused sleeping next to her. She got dressed and shook him awake, asking for her mobile phone.
She then took a taxi home and sent text messages to her boyfriend, saying she had been molested.

The couple returned an hour later to confront the accused, who denied sexually assaulting her because he “did not know how to explain his actions to the victim’s boyfriend”, the court heard.
She eventually lodged a police report the following morning.
On Thursday, District Judge Kessler Soh told the accused that the severity of his offence was reflected in the maximum punishment — 20 years’ jail with caning.
The judge described it as a “grievous form of assault and a very serious violation of a person”, ruling that the usual rehabilitative sentencing options for young offenders — probation or reformative training — were “simply not appropriate” in this case.
The prosecution had asked for six to seven years’ jail with three strokes of the cane.
His defence lawyers — Mr Eugene Thuraisingam, Mr Chooi Jing Yen and Mr Johannes Hadi — sought either reformative training or three years’ jail and two strokes of the cane.
They said that their client will be appealing against the sentence. He remains out on bail of S$80,000 pending the appeal in the High Court.

 

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8 weeks' jail for CEO who assaulted cabby, dislocating victim's shoulder​

Paul John Murphy was also fined $1,000 for performing a negligent act that could endanger the personal safety of others. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

June 30, 2022



SINGAPORE - The chief executive of a private investment holding company who assaulted a taxi driver and dislocated the man's shoulder was on Thursday (June 30) sentenced to eight weeks' jail for committing the offence.
Briton Paul John Murphy, 61, was also fined $1,000 for performing a negligent act that could endanger the personal safety of others.
Murphy, CEO of PWS Holdings, had opened a passenger door of the taxi he was travelling in, causing a near collision, and assaulted the driver, Mr Elgin Lee, who had asked him to shut the door.
On April 7, District Judge Ong Chin Rhu convicted Murphy of the offences following a trial.
The court heard that Murphy had gone to the Singapore Recreation Club in Connaught Drive near the Padang for a drinking session on March 2, 2018.
Mr Elgin Lee later picked him up at the club at around 10pm that day.
The cabby was driving towards Murphy's home when he stopped his vehicle at a red light at the exit of the Central Expressway towards Outram Road.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao had said in his submissions that the taxi was stationary when an intoxicated Murphy opened the passenger door, mistakenly assuming that they had arrived at his destination.
This resulted in a passing vehicle having to swerve out of the way.
The taxi driver then used vulgar language to repeatedly tell the Singapore permanent resident to close the door, the court heard.

The prosecutor had said: "Shortly after that, the victim felt the accused hitting his left upper arm twice. Following that, while making a right turn into Outram Road, the victim was checking his left wing mirror when he noticed a shadow coming towards him and raised his left arm to block it.
"It turned out that the accused was trying to hit him, and after it impacted the victim's left lower arm, the victim suffered a left shoulder dislocation."
Feeling pain, the court heard that Mr Lee stopped the taxi, alighted and told Murphy to get out of the vehicle.

The prosecutor told the judge that Murphy alighted and the cabby drove away, only to stop in nearby Eng Hoon Street due to the pain.
Two friends later took him to Mount Alvernia Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a dislocated left shoulder. He was granted hospitalisation leave from March 3 to 20 that year.
Murphy is represented by lawyers Pratap Kishan and Nirmal Singh.
During the trial, Murphy had said that after closing the door, he had apologised to Mr Lee, who "continued to shout vulgarities at him".
The prosecutor said: "(According to the defence), the victim also half-turned towards him, raised both hands, which were balled into fists, and came towards him with his arms swinging.
"The accused then felt threatened, stretched out his right arm to restrain the victim, and his palm connected with the victim's left upper arm."
According to the defence, Mr Lee went backwards into his seat and told Murphy to get out of the taxi. The Briton then complied, the court heard.
A doctor, however, told the court during the trial that the scenario described by the cabby would be the most likely means by which the dislocation could occur.

On Thursday, Mr Pratap said that Murphy had given more than $1,800 in compensation to the victim over items including his medical expenses.
The lawyer added that his client was not a violent man and the incident had taken place at the spur of the moment.
The court also heard that Murphy intends to appeal against his conviction and sentence.
For voluntarily causing hurt, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

 

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Shell heist: Surveyor who accepted $4,000 bribe jailed for four weeks​

Samuel Devaraj

June 30, 2022

SINGAPORE - Paramanandham Srinivasan spotted a man on board a vessel he was inspecting, after cargo had been loaded onto it.
Paramanandham, a surveyor, suspected that the man could have manipulated the readings on the vessel's machinery or documents in order to conceal the misappropriation of gas oil.
He questioned the man's presence on the vessel and the man told him not to interfere and gave him US$3,000.
For accepting the gratification from Muzaffar Ali Khan Muhamad Akram, Paramanandham, was sentenced to four weeks' jail and ordered to pay a penalty of $4,046.70 - the local dollar equivalent of the bribe amount - on Thursday (June 30).
The 39-year-old Indian national pleaded guilty to one corruption charge.
He was among 12 surveyors who were charged on April 14 for allegedly accepting bribes from then Shell employees Muzaffar, Juandi Pungot and Richard Goh Chee Keong.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Norman Yew said in court documents that Paramanandham's company, SGS Testing and Control Services Singapore, offers surveying services, including the inspection of the quantity of cargo supplied to vessels in Singapore by suppliers like Shell.

Paramanandham had spotted Muzaffar some time around April 28, 2016, on board a vessel which his company was engaged to inspect.
DPP Yew said: "After receiving the cash, the accused forbore to accurately report the amount of cargo loaded onto that vessel and turned a blind eye to Muzaffar's misappropriation of gas oil at Shell Pulau Bukom.
"By these actions, the accused helped Muzaffar, Juandi and their co-conspirators to conceal the misappropriation of gas oil."
As a result of Paramanandham's action, the misappropriation of Shell oil worth US$236,956.14 went undetected by the company in 2016.
DPP Yew added that since the discovery of the heist, Shell has taken costly measures to improve its systems and processes at Shell Pulau Bukom, including developing a monitoring software and creating new permanent positions.

On March 31, Juandi was jailed for 29 years for his role in masterminding the misappropriation of more than 200,000 tonnes of gas oil worth $128 million.
This is one of the longest prison sentences for a commercial crime.
Muzaffar's case is still pending.
Some of the other surveyors have also been dealt sentences for accepting bribes. They include Anand Omprekas, 39, Noruliman Bakti, 40, and Muhammad Khairul Asri Mohamad Hanafiah, 38, who were each jailed between four and eight months on May 26.
The maximum penalty for corruption is a $100,000 fine and five years in jail.

 

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Jail for housekeeper who stole $5,000 from red packets left in hotel room​

Osmond Chia

July 14, 2022

SINGAPORE - A housekeeping staff member of Fairmont Hotel stole almost $5,000 in cash that was kept in a safe box of a guest's room.
The money was packed in red packets that were meant for the victim's son, whose wedding was held at the hotel in Bras Basah.
Saravanan Kannan, 50, who is from Malaysia, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (July 13) to theft and was jailed for three months.
Court documents did not state whether Saravanan is still employed by the hotel, which has been contacted for comment.
The court heard that the victim, Madam Kuo Mei-Yi, 60, arrived in Singapore from Taiwan on April 24 this year with her sister to attend her son's wedding.
Madam Kuo placed close to $20,000 of cash in Singapore and Taiwanese currencies meant for her son in four red packets inside the safe in her hotel room.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ghopinath Kalimuthu said investigations found that Saravanan entered the victim's room to tidy it up at 1pm on April 26.

The DPP said: "While he was inside the room, he noticed the safe box was unlocked with a few red packets inside the safe.
"The accused looked through the red packets and found cash enclosed in them."
He took some of the cash, amounting to nearly $5,000.

He later changed $1,100 of the money into ringgit and spent it in Malaysia.
When Madam Kuo returned to the room, she saw that the safe was unlocked but was not suspicious then as all the red packets there.
She handed the first red packet to her son during the wedding reception at night.
Her son's wife later called to ask why she had packed such an odd amount of money - $7,401 - in the red packet.
The DPP said: "(Madam Kuo) realised that was not the amount of money that she put inside the first red packet. Hence, she decided to check the remaining red packets inside the safe."

She found that some NT$50,000 (S$2,340) was missing from the second and third red packets and reported the theft to the police and the hotel's security.
The accused was later interviewed and admitted to the theft.
The police retrieved around S$1,500 and NT$50,000 from the accused and returned the cash to Madam Kuo. The hotel's management returned the remaining $1,100 to her and deducted the amount from Saravanan's salary.
He could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Man who offered three Traffic Police officers 'coffee money' jailed eight weeks​

Han Shaolu was convicted at the end of a five-day trial on three charges of corruption. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Wong Shiying

Jul 18, 2022

SINGAPORE - A 38-year-old man who claimed trial to offering $100 in bribes to three Traffic Police officers was on Monday (July 18) sentenced to eight weeks' jail.
Han Shaolu, a Chinese national, tried to bribe the officers in 2019 in exchange for letting him off after he was suspected of drink-driving.
He was convicted at the end of a five-day trial on three charges of corruption.
Han claimed that the cash he offered was meant as payment for a fine, but the prosecution proved that he knew his actions were corrupt.
Court documents state that on Dec 3, 2019, at around 11.30pm, two officers - Senior Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Roslan Abdul Rasip and Sergeant (Sgt) Muhammad Shakir Lim Muhammad Sharizal Lim - were dispatched to an open-air carpark in Geylang Lorong 31 to attend to a possible case of drink-driving.
When they approached Han, they could not communicate with him, as he spoke in Mandarin, which they could not understand.
As Han smelled of alcohol, Sgt Shakir went to retrieve a breathalyser while SSgt Roslan engaged Han.

At this point, Han took out two $50 notes from his wallet and his identification cards and waved them in front of the officers.
The officers called Sergeant Lum Zheng Yao to help translate what Han was saying. Sgt Lum understood that the $100 was an offer to SSgt Roslan and Sgt Shakir to "let him off and give him a chance", and "if $100 is not enough, (Han could) increase it to $150".
The officers' team leader, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Tan Jia Ming, was informed of the incident and went to the carpark to speak to Han.

ASP Tan asked Han if he had offered money to his officers, to which the accused said he did, adding that it was a trivial matter and asked to be let go.
Han even offered the $100 to ASP Tan, saying that $100 is not a bribe because in China, the amount had to be in the thousands of dollars before being considered a bribe.
ASP Tan informed him that in Singapore, even 20 cents would be considered a bribe but Han said the money was "kafei qian", or coffee money in Mandarin.
The breathalyser test results indicated that Han was still legally allowed to drive.
But he was arrested for bribery, and investigations found he was in a hurry to return to China the next day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Samuel Yap said Han had a reason to ensure that his return to China was smooth and not impeded by any ongoing investigations against him.
"Seen in this context, the accused's true intentions at the material time become obvious," he added.
DPP Yap said Han's claim of giving the cash to the officers as payment for a fine was made for the first time at the trial despite various prior opportunities for him to say so.
"The accused's account is nothing more than an afterthought and should therefore be rejected," he added.
For each count of corruption, an offender can be fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to five years.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Trial of Razer's $9.7m suit over data leak cut short after IT vendor's ex-employee concedes causing breach​

Razer had sued Capgemini for causing a security breach that resulted in a leak of its confidential customer and sales data. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

Jul 22, 2022

SINGAPORE - The hearing into a lawsuit brought by gaming hardware company Razer against an IT vendor was cut short on Friday (July 22), after the defendant's former employee conceded that he caused the security breach that led to a data leak.
In the light of the concession, Justice Lee Sieu Kin said it was not necessary for technical experts to testify in the trial, which was scheduled till July 29.
The case was adjourned for written submissions to be filed by Aug 30.
Razer had sued Capgemini for causing a security breach in 2020 that resulted in a leak of its confidential customer and sales data.
It is seeking to recover from the vendor at least US$7 million (S$9.7 million) in losses it said it suffered, the bulk of which was the loss of profits from its e-commerce platform.
The trial opened in the High Court on July 13.
Razer contends that former Capgemini employee Argel Cabalag caused the security breach in June 2020 when he added a "#" command to a line of code, which effectively disabled the security settings of a computer system.

Razer said he was the only one who accessed the server during a 16-minute window when the misconfiguration occurred.
Between June 18, 2020, and Sept 10, 2020, data stored in the computer system was leaked to the public.
The breach was discovered by an independent cyber-security consultant who estimated that 100,000 customers worldwide had their shipping information and order details leaked.
On Thursday, before Mr Cabalag was due to take the stand, he told Capgemini's lawyers that he wanted to inform the court that he now recalls that he was the one who caused the security misconfiguration.
He previously suggested that the misconfiguration could have been caused by Razer staff.
Mr Cabalag, who left Capgemini in September 2021, said his memory was jolted after seeing a screenshot from the report of Razer's technical expert Mark Whittley.
On Friday, when questioned by Razer's lawyer Wendell Wong, Mr Cabalag said he is no longer blaming Razer staff.

Mr Wong put it to Mr Cabalag that he had been maintaining a lie and that it was not true that his memory had been jolted by the screenshot.
But Mr Cabalag said it was true that the screenshot caused him to recall what he had done that day.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Short detention order for NTU student who peeped at another man showering​

Samuel Devaraj

Jul 28, 2022

SINGAPORE - A man pointed his mobile phone camera at another man who was showering in a toilet cubicle in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), but was caught by the victim.
After fleeing the scene, the Peeping Tom messaged his girlfriend and admitted his offence, adding that he got caught and was now in trouble.
Xu Ziye, 22, was sentenced to a 14-day short detention order on Thursday (July 28).
The Chinese national, who was an NTU student, pleaded guilty to a voyeurism charge and another charge for possessing obscene films.
Offenders given a short detention order are put behind bars for a short time, but will not have a criminal record after their release.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Wuan told the court that on Aug 26, 2020, at about 3.30 pm the victim entered the toilet at the same time as Xu and went into the last cubicle to take a shower.
"The accused then entered the adjacent toilet cubicle, intending to operate equipment (a mobile phone) to observe and take a photograph of the victim's genitals while he was showering in the nude," said DPP Wuan.

Xu turned on the camera and lifted it over the cubicle wall, aiming it at the victim.
The victim saw this and shouted at Xu and immediately began to wear his pants. When the victim got dressed and came out of the cubicle, he saw Xu running out of the toilet.
Xu was detained with the assistance of a security officer and the police were called at 4pm that day.
Following his arrest, 722 obscene films, including explicit ones, were found on two phones that were seized from him.
Before meting out the sentence, District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan noted that there was a high degree of intrusion, but that the level of premeditation and culpability was not high.
He also took into account Xu's age and that it was his first offence.
For voyeurism, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or sentenced to any combination of these punishments.
For possessing obscene films, he could have been fined up to $2,000, jailed for up to 6 months or both.
The Straits Times has reached out to NTU for comment.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

$4k fine for woman who scratched and kicked police officers, pushed taxi driver​

Carlie Jayne Guy pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt and two charges over use of criminal force. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Samuel Devaraj

Aug 4, 2022

SINGAPORE - After a dispute with a taxi driver over payment for a ride, Carlie Jayne Guy pushed him into nearby bushes.
After police officers were called to the scene, the Briton scratched one of them and kicked another.
Guy, 37, was fined $4,000 on Thursday (Aug 4) after she pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt and two charges over use of criminal force.
Two other charges were taken into consideration during her sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Regina Lim said in court documents that on Feb 2, 2019, Guy boarded a taxi driven by Mr Simon Tan and they reached the drop-off point of City Square Residences at 2 Kitchener Link at about 5.15am.
She added: "When Tan sought to collect his taxi fare from the accused, the accused claimed that she had paid for the taxi fare via the Grab mobile phone application with her credit card.
"A dispute thus broke out between Tan and the accused."

Guy then pushed Mr Tan towards the nearby bushes, causing him to stumble.
He then called the police and followed Guy as she walked away.
She was later stopped by police officers, placed under arrest and escorted back to the drop-off point.
As she was being held by two officers, she used the nail of her right thumb to scratch one of them a few times. The officer moved his hand away in pain.
He was later found to have sustained a 2cm scratch mark.

After a police car arrived, an officer was escorting Guy to the rear passenger seat of the car when she kicked the officer's leg.
In court on Thursday, Guy said she has been in Singapore for 12 years and hopes to remain here to work.
Previously on an employment pass, she had been on a special pass for the last three years during investigation into her offences.
For voluntarily causing hurt, she could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to $5,000, or both.
For each count of using criminal force, she could have been jailed for up to three months' and fined $1,500.