Man who shot at passer-by with airsoft gun gets jail

[Cream]

Man who shot at passer-by with airsoft gun gets jail


Published Oct 1, 2015, 5:00 am SGT

Sentence meant to ensure the maxim 'once bitten, twice shy' was not lost on him: Judge

K.C. Vijayan
Senior Law Correspondent

A district judge, in sentencing a bank officer who fired a shot at a passer-by with an airsoft gun, made clear a jail term was needed to deter other people who might have the same idea.

DJ Siva Shanmugam said sending the offender Ernest Sim to jail was to ensure the maxim "once bitten, twice shy" was not lost on him.

Sim, 26, a personal banker, was jailed seven weeks and fined $12,000 in August for firing a shot from his pellet gun at a passer-by, and possessing an airsoft pistol and importing an airsoft pistol in December without a licence.
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Five other charges were also taken into consideration, which included separate incidents involving two other victims.

In the shooting incident, which occurred at about 8.15pm on Jan 26, Ms Bian Xin, 29, was hit just above her chest by a white ball-shaped pellet while walking along a sheltered area near Block 101, Clementi Street 14. It later emerged that the shot came from the second-storey unit of the block, where Sim lived.

Ms Bian had noticed that the lights in the unit went out immediately after she was hit.

Police checked the flat and seized an airsoft gun and airsoft pistol, for which Sim admitted ownership. Sim said he bought the items in Thailand last December, dismantled the guns and hid the parts in his bags to get them into Singapore via Changi Airport. He did not have a licence to import or possess such items.

His lawyer Lee Ee Yang urged the court to impose a non-jail sentence, pointing out that Sim was remorseful, no significant harm was done to the victim, and Sim had made $1,400 in voluntary compensation to all the victims involved.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Yi Cheng called for a jail term of at least eight weeks for the shooting offence, saying that Sim had targeted the victim, had done so out of boredom and mischief and had shot at two other victims, as reflected in the other charges taken into consideration.

DJ Siva Shanmugam, in explaining why the deterrence was necessary, said most people live in high-rise buildings and are close to each other. "It would be relatively easy for someone to perch themselves in their apartment and take potshots at passers-by without being detected," he added in judgment grounds released last week.

He noted that Sim had turned off the lights in his home immediately after shooting to escape detection.

DJ Siva said the offences were premeditated and well-planned, noting that Sim would have undertaken the necessary prepatory acts which aggravated the offences.

The offence was also not a "one-off incident" as three other charges showed he had discharged pellets from his airsoft gun on three different dates in January. Sim has paid the fines and is on bail pending his appeal on the sentence.

 

[Cream]

Sentence cut for man who fired airsoft pistol at passers-by

K.C. Vijayan
Thursday, Sep 1, 2016

A personal banker who fired an airsoft pistol at passers-by from his second-storey Clementi flat has had his sentence cut to one week's detention and 150 hours of community service on appeal.

Ernest Sim, 27, shot Ms Bian Xin, 29, in the chest with a white ball-shaped pellet from his flat at Block 101, Clementi Street 14 on Jan 26 last year.

Sim admitted causing hurt, possessing an airsoft pistol and importing an airsoft pistol in December 2013 without a licence.

Five other charges were also taken into consideration, which included separate incidents involving two other victims.

He was jailed for seven weeks and fined $12,000 by a district court in August last year.

The High Court's move to cut his sentence followed a post-sentence test by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) which was "inconclusive" as to the degree of danger posed by the arms in question.

Justice Chan Seng Onn allowed the appeal on the further ground that there was nothing in the statement of facts which suggested the victim had suffered any "bodily pain" or injury.

"It is not enough that hurt could potentially be caused if there is no evidence of actual hurt caused," he said in judgment grounds released yesterday.

Sim had brought the guns into Singapore from Thailand, first using them to shoot at trees and inanimate objects.

But this escalated when he began shooting at people from his second-storey flat, taking aim as they walked along the public areas below. In January last year alone, he shot at three unsuspecting persons on four occasions.

When he appealed against his sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Prem Raj Prabakaran pressed for a one-week jail term in the wake of the HSA finding.

Justice Chan commended the prosecution for the "candour and even-handedness" in disclosing the HSA test results although it was adverse to the prosecution's case.

Both parties agreed to reduce the charge to a lesser offence as the statement of facts did not show that hurt had been caused to the victim.

"Without further reference to the requirement that hurt has to be caused... even a 'Nerf' gun (a toy gun firing soft foam darts), a Laser Tag gun (which discharges no projectile whatsoever) or a toddler's water pistol is a dangerous weapon," said Justice Chan.

He expressed doubt if the victim was actually hurt or was "merely annoyed or irritated".

Sim's lawyers Shashi Nathan and Tania Chin pointed out in mitigation that he had expressed remorse, compensated the victims and had no previous convictions.

Justice Chan said Sim was "very fortunate" no serious injuries were caused from the airsoft guns which could hurt if fired into a person's eye, for instance.

He made it clear Sim's conduct was "clearly anti-social and harmful to the community" but the hurt in this case was "transient at best".

He convicted Sim on the reduced charge and sentenced him to a week's detention and 150 hours of community service. The $12,000 fine and compensation paid in relation to the other two charges were ordered to stand.