http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20080304-52712.html
Kleptomaniac spared jail, placed on probation
Tue, Mar 04, 2008
The Straits Times
AFTER being in and out of prison four times in the past 15 years for shoplifting, a 41-year-old kleptomaniac was given a shot at rehabilitation on Tuesday.
Housewife Zhang Jing, suffering from the mental illness which gives her irresistible urges to steal, was spared jail time for her latest theft conviction and put on probation for 18 months by an appeals judge.
Justice V. K. Rajah, setting aside the nine-month jail term the Chinese national was handed down for stealing three watches from a Scotts Road shop, said: 'I think this is a sensible outcome.'
Zhang, an architect who lost her job after her second conviction, is married to a Singaporean lecturer. Her husband was ordered to sign a $10,000 bond to ensure her good behaviour.
Justice Rajah recommended that two pending theft charges against her be put on hold.
Last November, it was also he who made a landmark judgement in the case of Goh Lee Yin, a 26-year-old kleptomaniac.
In what has been hailed as an 'enlightened approach' in dealing with mentally ill offenders, he laid down that those diagnosed as kleptomaniacs be put on probation instead of thrown behind bars.
He said then that prosecutors should be slow to refer such cases to the courts, but made it clear that the court would not condone those who tried to pass themselves off as kleptomaniacs.
In his judgment, he noted that the road to recovery for a kleptomaniac is not a straight one but one that went on an 'upward but jagged trajectory'.
Zhang first sought psychiatric help after her arrest in 1996 and was found to be suffering from depression.
She has since also been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder characterised by obsessive thoughts and repetitive behaviours, as well as bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder marked by episodes of self-induced vomiting.
Three psychiatrists have also confirmed her as a case of kleptomania.
Now on medication, she sees a psychologist once a week and a psychiatrist once a month, and does volunteer work at the Institute of Mental Health.
Kleptomaniac spared jail, placed on probation
Tue, Mar 04, 2008
The Straits Times
AFTER being in and out of prison four times in the past 15 years for shoplifting, a 41-year-old kleptomaniac was given a shot at rehabilitation on Tuesday.
Housewife Zhang Jing, suffering from the mental illness which gives her irresistible urges to steal, was spared jail time for her latest theft conviction and put on probation for 18 months by an appeals judge.
Justice V. K. Rajah, setting aside the nine-month jail term the Chinese national was handed down for stealing three watches from a Scotts Road shop, said: 'I think this is a sensible outcome.'
Zhang, an architect who lost her job after her second conviction, is married to a Singaporean lecturer. Her husband was ordered to sign a $10,000 bond to ensure her good behaviour.
Justice Rajah recommended that two pending theft charges against her be put on hold.
Last November, it was also he who made a landmark judgement in the case of Goh Lee Yin, a 26-year-old kleptomaniac.
In what has been hailed as an 'enlightened approach' in dealing with mentally ill offenders, he laid down that those diagnosed as kleptomaniacs be put on probation instead of thrown behind bars.
He said then that prosecutors should be slow to refer such cases to the courts, but made it clear that the court would not condone those who tried to pass themselves off as kleptomaniacs.
In his judgment, he noted that the road to recovery for a kleptomaniac is not a straight one but one that went on an 'upward but jagged trajectory'.
Zhang first sought psychiatric help after her arrest in 1996 and was found to be suffering from depression.
She has since also been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder characterised by obsessive thoughts and repetitive behaviours, as well as bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder marked by episodes of self-induced vomiting.
Three psychiatrists have also confirmed her as a case of kleptomania.
Now on medication, she sees a psychologist once a week and a psychiatrist once a month, and does volunteer work at the Institute of Mental Health.
