A 17-YEAR-OLD Briton yesterday got the prison term he asked for, after having gone on a spree of mischief, criminal trespass and theft while out on police bail and serving a probation order for earlier offences.
Grant Callum Pearson, who objected strongly to being sent for reformative training, was given nine months by a district court; the sentence will, however, be backdated to the start of his period of remand on May 22.
The teenager had told the court earlier that his remand, served in Changi Prison, had given him time to think about what he had done and to turn over a new leaf. He also claimed to have found out that the dynamics among youths in reformative training revolved around gangs and skin colour, and that he would be a misfit there.
The court heard that Pearson, then studying at an international school, was being investigated for fraudulent possession of a CashCard in March; he was a no-show for his court date on March 27, and a warrant went out for his arrest. While on the run, he committed about 30 offences. With his alleged accomplices Rhamir Colita Johnston and Huang Ruochu, both 16, he trespassed into a house in Pasir Panjang and homes in the East Coast areas to steal.
Johnston and Huang have since been charged.
Pearson had pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief – smashing a car window – and four charges each of criminal trespass and theft; 23 other charges were taken into consideration.
His slate of transgressions predate the CashCard offence. In April last year, he was given 18 months’ probation for theft and criminal breach of trust.
Last month, Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Tan, noting that the teenager had breached his probation and gone on his spree of mischief, argued for a jail term. Putting the youth back on probation was ruled out, and reformative training was also deemed unsuitable as Pearson had no family members to supervise him, said DPP Tan.
Pearson has two older sisters, one of whom is here. The 20-year-old was in court yesterday. Their father has returned to England to work, and the siblings are not close to their stepmother.
District Judge Ch’ng Lye Beng, who eventually decided on a jail term, told Pearson that the offences he had committed were rather serious and that he had to pay for the consequences.
Pearson said: “I really wish to be sent to prison. I have served almost four months in remand in Changi Prison.”
