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Sep 9, 2009
Arrest warrant for teen <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Khushwant Singh
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Azzam Azhar's mother, auntie and father spent three hours for him near the Subordinate Courts. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
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AZZAM Azhar was to plead guilty to abetting four accomplices in harassing a debtor of a loan shark but when his case was called, he was nowhere to be found. The 19-year-old went missing after telling his mother he was going to the toilet. At 3pm on Wednesday, with Azzam still missing, District Judge Lee Poh Choo issued a warrant of arrest. His mother, who posted the bail of $10,000, may now have this forfeited.
Azzam's father, a delivery driver, took time off to come to court to search for his son. Azzam's accomplices, aged between 13 and 15, were also arrested in June and will be dealt with by the Juvenile Court. They cannot be named, as they are minors. Loan shark runners are getting younger and this problem was raised in Parliament recently. Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Affairs) Ho Peng Kee said in August that 81 youths were arrested from January to June, compared to 21 in the same period last year. The youngest nabbed this year was only 12. A total of 63 youths arrested last year for harassing debtors, who defaulted on repayments to loan sharks. The figure for 2007 is 59 youths.
Courts usually place young offenders on probation, in boys' homes or the reformative training centre. While probation is usually for a year or more and reformative training would last at least 1 1/2 years, young offenders are known to ask for a jail term, which is usually shorter. On Tuesday, Arshad Ajmal Mohamed Salih, who pleaded guilty to loan-shark harassment, asked to be jailed. His lawyer Rajan Supramaniam said Arshad believed a jail sentence would not delay his plans to enlist for National Service and then to study overseas and study law. Arshad looked disappointed when the judge asked for a pre-sentence report to evaluate his suitability for probation or reformative training later this month.
Sep 9, 2009
Arrest warrant for teen <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Khushwant Singh
</td></tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
</td> <td width="10">
Azzam Azhar's mother, auntie and father spent three hours for him near the Subordinate Courts. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
</td></tr> </tbody></table>
AZZAM Azhar was to plead guilty to abetting four accomplices in harassing a debtor of a loan shark but when his case was called, he was nowhere to be found. The 19-year-old went missing after telling his mother he was going to the toilet. At 3pm on Wednesday, with Azzam still missing, District Judge Lee Poh Choo issued a warrant of arrest. His mother, who posted the bail of $10,000, may now have this forfeited.
Azzam's father, a delivery driver, took time off to come to court to search for his son. Azzam's accomplices, aged between 13 and 15, were also arrested in June and will be dealt with by the Juvenile Court. They cannot be named, as they are minors. Loan shark runners are getting younger and this problem was raised in Parliament recently. Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Affairs) Ho Peng Kee said in August that 81 youths were arrested from January to June, compared to 21 in the same period last year. The youngest nabbed this year was only 12. A total of 63 youths arrested last year for harassing debtors, who defaulted on repayments to loan sharks. The figure for 2007 is 59 youths.
Courts usually place young offenders on probation, in boys' homes or the reformative training centre. While probation is usually for a year or more and reformative training would last at least 1 1/2 years, young offenders are known to ask for a jail term, which is usually shorter. On Tuesday, Arshad Ajmal Mohamed Salih, who pleaded guilty to loan-shark harassment, asked to be jailed. His lawyer Rajan Supramaniam said Arshad believed a jail sentence would not delay his plans to enlist for National Service and then to study overseas and study law. Arshad looked disappointed when the judge asked for a pre-sentence report to evaluate his suitability for probation or reformative training later this month.
