Former engineer pleads guilty to cheating victims of luxury bags

[Battle Mech]

Former engineer pleads guilty to cheating victims of luxury bags

Published on Oct 24, 2012

Former engineer Goh Lee Yin, who has been in and out of court for theft, was back in court today to plead guilty to cheating victims of luxury bags. Goh faced four charges in all, three of which were for deceiving the victims into parting with six Hermes bags worth $110,700. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Elena Chong

Former engineer Goh Lee Yin, who has been in and out of court for theft, was back in court today to plead guilty to cheating victims of luxury bags.

The 31-year-old woman, who is now unemployed, faced four charges in all, three of which were for deceiving the victims into parting with six Hermes bags worth $110,700.

The prosecution proceeded on two charges of cheating involving Ms Cindy Lestari of $67,500 and Ms Lynette Ong Pei Lin of $29,500 on Oct 22 and Nov 9 last year respectively.

A Community Court heard that Goh saw an online advertisement posted by Ms Lestari, 21, to sell two of her Hermes bags last October. Goh responded and introduced herself as Audrey.

Read the full report in The Straits Times on Wednesday (Oct 24).

 

[Battle Mech]

Woman pleads guilty to cheating others of branded bags
By Leong Wai Kit | Posted: 24 October 2012 2234 hrs

SINGAPORE: A woman who has a mental disorder and a string of previous theft offences has pleaded guilty to three charges of cheating and one charge of misusing another person's identity card.

Goh Lee Yin, 31, admitted to cheating three women between September and November last year, of their branded bags worth S$110,700.

She also admitted to unlawfully using another person's identity card to register for a pre-paid mobile phone card.

Goh was found to have kleptomania in 2007, when she was convicted of theft.

She re-offended twice in 2011.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Amardeep Singh proceeded with two cheating charges against Goh, and took the other charges into consideration.

Goh had committed those two offences in October and November last year.

She contacted the women - Ms Cindy Lestari, 21 and Ms Lynette Ong, 35 - who had advertised online to sell their Hermes bags.

Goh cheated Ms Lestari and Ms Ong of bags worth a total of S$97,000.

Goh had emailed them using fake names, and showed them fake bank transfer screen-grabs, which she had saved on her smartphone.

On Tuesday, the court examined reports from various doctors that showed Goh also had a form of impulse control disorder.

Goh's lawyer, Mr Wendell Wong urged the court to be compassionate, and not to give up on her.

In the mitigation, he said the issue was in deciding on an appropriate sentence for Goh, as sentences must fit the offender.

Mr Wong noted one of Goh's medical reports, where a doctor said he had not come across a case such as Goh's, in his "vast experience" as a medical practitioner.

Mr Wong said Goh's "mental state is exceedingly critical for the court's consideration".

However, Mr Singh argued that Goh had not made use of her second and third chances to stay crime-free.

He noted that while Goh needed help, there is a need to protect the public.

Mr Singh urged for a jail term, arguing the public will be "vulnerable with such a person left on the streets".

Goh's case will be heard again on November 23.

- CNA/xq

 

[Eomer]

Cheating case: Judge wants special hearing

Goh has been convicted of theft three times since 2005 and was diagnosed to be suffering from kleptomania.

By Elena Chong
The Straits Times
Monday, Nov 26, 2012

SINGAPORE - A JUDGE has called for a special hearing to find out whether a woman's cheating offences had anything to do with her personality disorder.

Community Court Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan adjourned Goh Lee Yin's case to Jan 24. Hearings like this are generally ordered when a defendant pleads guilty but there are factual issues to be resolved between the prosecution and defence, relating, for example, to the appropriate sentence. Three witnesses - all psychiatrists - are expected to testify.

The defence had argued that there was a causal link between Goh's personality disorder and the offences, while an expert from the Institute of Mental Health is expected to say that there was no causal link at the time.

Goh has been convicted of theft three times since 2005 and was diagnosed to be suffering from kleptomania, an impulsive urge to steal.

In her latest cheating case, which occurred two to three months after her release from prison, the 31-year-old unemployed woman pleaded guilty last month to two charges of cheating her victims into believing that she had transferred money into their online bank accounts for the purchase of two Hermes handbags from each of them.

She cheated Indonesian national Cindy Lestari, 21, out of $67,500 and Ms Lynette Ong Pei Lin, 35, out of $29,500 in October and November last year respectively. Another similar charge and one of using another person's identity card will be taken into consideration when she is sentenced.

The court heard that Goh responded to Ms Lestari's online advertisement on Oct 14 last year and said she was keen to buy the two luxury handbags. She introduced herself as Audrey and negotiated a price.

Before they met, Goh had asked the Indonesian woman for her bank account number on the pretext that she would transfer the agreed sum of $67,500 via Internet banking. She created an Internet banking transaction page purportedly showing the transfer of funds from a fake account to the victim's and e-mailed it to her own mobile phone.

About a week later, they met at a park in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Goh was handed the handbags after showing the fake transaction page on her phone to the victim. When Ms Lestari found out that no money had been transferred, she tried contacting Goh but her phone was switched off.

Goh cheated Ms Ong of $29,500 in a similar way. She has paid her back the money.

During last month's hearing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amardeep Singh had cited many aggravating factors and the high amounts involved to argue for a 15- to 24-month jail sentence.

But Goh's lawyer, Mr Wendell Wong, had urged the court to call for a pre-sentence report or impose a community-based sentence. He argued that Goh's mental condition or disability had impaired her judgment.

The offence is punishable with up to 10 years' jail and a fine on each charge.

[email protected]

 

[red amoeba]

looks quite chio....80 a shot type?

 

[mollusk]

looks quite chio....80 a shot type?

Mai lah Mai lah..wah Mai lah

 

[Touchy]

looks quite chio....80 a shot type?

Wait long long, at least asking for the figure of XXX per shot.

 

[OutoftheBlue]

looks quite chio....80 a shot type?

Her older pic is slimmer is better looking.

 

[Arzon]

Now good eat good sleep fat already,

 

[Hudson]

Moral of the story - Seek help. Don't delay.

Really a waste. Study so much and study so hard... career all gone.

 

[Kyo Kusanagi]

Newton hearing for woman who cheated people of luxury bags underway

Published on Jan 24, 2013

Goh Lee Yin arrives at the Subordinate Courts, May 2, 2007, to face her sentence. A Newton hearing is under way to determine if Goh has a mental disorder which had caused her to cheat people of luxury bags. Such hearings are held to resolve disputed points in a case and ascertain the correct basis for sentencing. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG

By Elena Chong

A Newton hearing is under way to determine if a woman has a mental disorder which had caused her to cheat people of luxury bags. Such hearings are held to resolve disputed points in a case and ascertain the correct basis for sentencing.

Goh Lee Yin, 31, pleaded guilty last year to two counts of cheating involving Hermes bags totalling $97,000. Community Court judge Shaiffudin Saruwan had called for the special hearing to resolve factual issues before passing the appropriate sentence.

The former engineer, who is now unemployed, faces a jail term of up to 10 years on each of the charges. She is no stranger to the courts having been in and out for shoplifting. She was previously diagnosed with kleptomania, an impulsive urge to steal.

One of her psychiatrists, Dr Tommy Tan, testified on Thursday that Goh was suffering from depressive personality disorder and needs long-term explorative psychotherapy.

He felt that her personality disorder, which causes her to cope poorly with stress, was causally linked to her current set of offences. He described her as one of the most challenging patients he ever had.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[Kyo Kusanagi]

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[Watto]

Shoplifter may have split personality, says doctor

Sunday, Jan 27, 2013
The Straits Times
By Elena Chong

SINGAPORE - A woman who has been in and out of court for shoplifting, and was convicted last October of cheating, may have dissociative identity disorder, or what is better known as a split personality disorder.

As such, Goh Lee Yin would require long-term treatment or she will likely re-offend, senior consultant psychiatrist Munidasa Winslow told a court yesterday.

Dr Winslow was testifying for the defence during a special hearing to resolve disputed points and ascertain the correct basis for the sentencing of the 31-year-old.

Goh had duped two women into believing that she had paid them $97,000 for Hermes handbags they advertised online for sale in late 2011. Her latest offences follow convictions for theft in 2005, 2007 and 2011.

She was reportedly diagnosed by her psychiatrist Tommy Tan, and others, with kleptomania, an impulsive urge to steal.

Dr Winslow testified that Goh would require 18 to 24 months of psychotherapy and psychodynamic treatment. This includes, among other things, a doctor to assist Goh in understanding how events in her past influence her current behaviour. He found that Goh suffered from an impulse control disorder and a possible dissociative identity disorder, but said "many things in (Goh's) behaviour did not make any sense".

"She is educated, she has a university degree. As far as we can tell... she has pretty good value systems and knows what is right, what is wrong," he added.

He also said he agreed with findings by the Institute of Mental Health's Dr Kenneth Koh, who said that while Goh was mildly depressed, her condition did not contribute significantly to her present cheating offences, which showed careful planning.

Dr Winslow, however, said if Goh was put in prison without "therapies that may work for her, we are actually condemning her to a long term because we will be seeing her forever and ever again".

Dr Tan, who also testified in court yesterday, said his patient did not have kleptomania, but depressive personality disorder.

"We are dealing with someone who has a need for luxury goods. She needs to obtain luxury goods to assuage her depressive mood, but after each time she gets it, she always regrets it," said Dr Tan.

The prosecution will continue with the cross-examination of Dr Winslow on Feb 15.

 

[Watto]

Goh Lee Yin, 30, was jailed for six weeks and fined $4,000 for three charges of theft.

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[Watto]

In 2005, Chief Justice Yong Pung How set aside her two and a half-month jail term and placed her on probation for two years

But she stole again - filching luxury handbags this time - while on probation in 2006.

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[Watto]

Her psychiatrist Dr Tan Chue Tin, 61, gave her a job to keep an eye on her and to help her stay out of trouble.


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[Watto]

In 2007, Justice V.K. Rajah put her on 18 months' probation in place of the one-day jail and $8,000 fine passed by the district court.

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[Watto]

In 2005, Goh made legal history when then Chief Justice Yong Pung How put her on probation instead of sending her to jail, as he felt jail would only worsen her condition.
Her case was considered unusual because in three previous cases of theft by kleptomaniacs, all had been jailed.

Justice Rajah had also viewed that a jail term was not the best solution for Goh. "I am persuaded that (Goh's)
rehabilitation for the present will be best continued outside of the prison walls," he had said then.

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[Watto]

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[Watto]

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