Jail term more than doubled for fake sugar daddy agent who duped women into having sex with him
SINGAPORE - A man who appealed against his sentence for duping at least 11 women into having sex with him had his jail term more than doubled, from 31/2 years to eight years and five months, on Wednesday (Dec 1). De Beers Wong Tian Jun, 40, had pretended to be an agent for "sugar daddies" and told his victims, who were aged between 18 and 24, that he needed to have sex with them to assess whether he should recommend them to his wealthy clients. In enhancing the sentence, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said Wong's culpability and the harm he caused fell at the very highest end of the spectrum for cheating. "The appellant had procured penetrative sex from the victims, which represented one of the most grievous intrusions of bodily autonomy," said the Chief Justice. "Not only did the appellant act with clear premeditation and subterfuge, his behaviour was simply cruel. He showed no remorse or doubt whatsoever when going about his spree of offending behaviour." CJ Menon also rejected a psychiatric report that Wong relied on to seek a lighter sentence. He said the report by Dr Ken Ung Eng Khean was predicated entirely on the narrative Wong had given the psychiatrist, which turned out to ...
Fresh graduate jailed 4 weeks for taking upskirt video, can’t recall number of victims
SINGAPORE - He has taken so many upskirt videos of women that he does not know his exact number of victims. In his latest attempt, Euan Liew Sheng Qi, 26, targeted a woman at Bedok Reservoir MRT station, who called the police after she suspected that she was a victim. On Wednesday (Dec 1), Liew, a fresh graduate who has just started working, was sentenced to four weeks' jail for insulting the modesty of a woman by filming an upskirt video. It was not stated in court documents which school he graduated from nor his occupation. The Singaporean first saw the 26-year-old woman at the platform of MacPherson MRT station on the way home at 9pm on July 17. They sat next to each other when the train arrived. "While on board the train, (Liew) glanced at her repeatedly, as he thought she was attractive," Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng told the court. At around 9.45pm, they alighted at Bedok Reservoir MRT station and Liew decided to take an upskirt video. When she took the escalator heading up, he stood two steps behind her and raised his right leg up one step. He placed his wallet and phone on top of his knee, with the camera facing upwards. She felt a slight brush on her right thigh a...
Man who impregnated girlfriend’s underage daughter gets 12 years’ jail, 6 strokes of the cane
SINGAPORE - A 29-year-old man who had sex with his girlfriend's underage daughter from when she was 14, and got her pregnant, was on Monday (Nov 29) sentenced to 12 years' jail and six strokes of the cane. This is believed to be the first case of underage sex involving an exploitative relationship after amendments to the penal code took effect last year that raised the penalties for such cases. The girl, who regarded the man as "daddy", gave birth to a daughter last year, at age 15. The man pleaded guilty to three counts of having sex with the minor in October. He cannot be named due to a court order protecting the identity of the girl, who is now 17. The court heard that prior to this incident, the girl had been sexually abused by another family member when she was between 10 and 12 years old. The man first met the victim's mother in 2015 and they moved in together in May 2016. The girl stayed with them later that year. He eventually gained the victim's trust by taking on the role of a father figure that she lacked because her biological father was in jail. The prosecutors said: "He would shower her with affection by spending relatively large sums of money to celebrate her birthda...
4 years’ jail for man who molested young boys on public buses
SINGAPORE - A 53-year-old man who molested two boys, aged 15 and 20, on public buses, was sentenced to four years' jail on Friday (Nov 5). Nooraman Mohd Noor pleaded guilty to two counts of outrage of modesty, and another two similar charges involving victims aged 12 and 18 were taken into consideration for sentencing. This is the sixth time he has been sentenced for outrage of modesty offences since 1997. In the last case before this, he was sentenced to two years and three months' jail in May 2019 for molesting a 31-year-old man on the MRT. On Friday, the court heard that on Jan 21, at around 6.30pm, his first victim, a 15-year-old secondary school student, boarded a bus and sat in the last row. Nooraman sat next to him and leaned towards the victim such that their arms were touching. He then groped the victim's groin area and touched him over his pants, positioning his hand in such a way that it was covered by his long-sleeved shirt. The victim stood up immediately and walked away. He later lodged a police report. Nooraman struck again less than a month later. On Feb 8, at around 5.15pm, he groped the groin area of a 20-year-old polytechnic student as they were boarding a bus at...
Jail for S’pore man who forced teen to strip naked as an alternative to beating
SINGAPORE - A teenager caught up in a staring incident was offered two options by his aggressors - get beaten up or strip naked. To avoid a beating, the teenager chose to strip, and a video showing his private parts and went viral on social media. Mohammad Nor Farizwan Riswan, 27, who filmed the video with his mobile phone, was sentenced to three weeks' jail after pleading guilty to one count each of harassment and voluntarily causing hurt in court on Tuesday (Oct 26). The victim, who was 17 at the time of the offence, cannot be named because of a gag order. He was involved in a staring incident with a man on March 12, 2019. Despite attempts to resolve the situation, the victim punched the man in a fit of anger, Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng told the court. Messages were then spread to locate the victim. When he was seen at at Admiralty MRT station the next day, Farizwan, a Singaporean, and another man, Muhammad Danial Mohamed Yashim, 23, confronted him. After confirming the victim's identity, Farizwan punched him once on the face and Danial kicked him on the neck. A third man, Muhammad Azroy Jasni, joined them, and they took the victim to a more secluded spot at a Housing Boar...
SkillsFuture scam: Key syndicate member sentenced to jail for 11 years and one month
SINGAPORE - Another key member of a syndicate which duped SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) into wrongfully disbursing over $40 million was dealt with on Wednesday (Aug 18). Andy Quek Sze Leng, 41, was sentenced to jail for 11 years and a month over his role in the largest case of fraud perpetrated against a public institution in Singapore. The former Grab and Uber driver had earlier pleaded guilty to 21 charges which included cheating and laundering the criminal proceeds. Another 49 charges, including for similar offences, were taken into consideration during sentencing by District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt. The scam saw the syndicate use nine shell companies to submit bogus SkillsFuture claims to SSG. Under the scheme, a Singapore business entity that sends its employees for skills-training courses with registered training providers can apply to SSG for a subsidy, if certain conditions are met. This means a portion of the total course fee payable by the business entity to the training provider will come from the Government. Depending on the claim method used, subsidies are paid to either the training provider or the employer. Between May and October 2017, the shell companies submitted a to...
Former counsellor at Changi Prison sentenced to 7 months’ jail for maid abuse
SINGAPORE - A woman who slapped her maid so hard that the domestic worker suffered a temporary loss of hearing was sentenced to seven months' jail on Wednesday (April 14). Gayathri Iyer, 51, was convicted in February following a trial of two counts of abusing her maid - Myanmar national Thang Khaw Lam. The 30-year-old victim suffered hearing loss in her left ear for at least a month. She later recovered from her injuries and was found to have normal hearing. Ms Thang Khaw Lam started working for Gayathri's family in June 2017 at the Pebble Bay condominium in Tanjong Rhu Road. On Oct 27 that year, the housewife hit the maid's shoulder after the domestic worker used the word "mah" when talking to her. Using a mobile phone, Ms Thang Khaw Lam took photographs of the bruises, which were at the top of her shoulder and extended slightly to her back. The second incident happened on Dec 7 that year, when Gayathri slapped Ms Thang Khaw Lam for failing to wake up her son who was then in national service. The incident happened at around 5.40am when the domestic worker was doing the laundry. Gayathri slapped the maid twice on her left ear and once on her right. As a result, the maid said she co...
9 months’ jail for maid who elbowed 1-year-old baby’s face and stepped on his knee
SINGAPORE - Feeling upset over personal issues, a maid decided to vent her unhappiness on a one-year-old baby boy under her care by abusing him with acts such as stepping on his leg and pushing his head until he fell. Indonesian Suliana Kasim Dapok, 42, was sentenced on Monday (April 5) to nine months' jail after pleading guilty to two counts of ill-treating the child. The baby cannot be named due to a gag order to protect his identity and details about his home have been redacted from court documents. The court heard that Suliana started working for his family in October 2018. Her duties included taking care of her employer's four children. The baby was at home at around 11.15am on May 8 last year when he vomited on a carpet in the living room. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan said: "The accused was in the process of cleaning the carpet with detergent when the victim walked towards the accused. "As the accused did not want the victim to come into contact with the detergent, the accused elbowed the victim in his face, causing the victim to fall to the floor and cry." Suliana was walking towards the kitchen after wiping the carpet when she thought that the baby would grab he...
Cleaner jailed 33 years for raping, sexually assaulting all 3 daughters
SINGAPORE - A 55-year-old man who sexually assaulted all three of his biological daughters at various points in time over a period of 14 years was sentenced to 33 years in jail on Tuesday (March 9). The man, who worked as a cleaner, began targeting each daughter when they turned 11 or 12 years old. He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identities of his daughters, who are now between 13 and 26 years old. As a result of years of abuse, the eldest and second daughters have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The second daughter also has major depressive disorder and will need psychological therapy in the future. "The accused had caused significant physical and psychological harm to all three of his daughters and severely violated their trust in their own father," said High Court judge See Kee Oon in sentencing. The man was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder and was found to have a high risk of re-offending. He cannot be caned as he is over 50. Apart from the three victims, the man also has a son, now 17. The court heard that the man started sexually assaulting the eldest daughter from when she was around 11 years old in 2005, after watching pornography...
Man jailed 18 days for molesting woman on MRT train
SINGAPORE - An engineer with a doctorate was on Tuesday (Feb 9) sentenced to 18 days' jail for molesting a 39-year-old woman on an MRT train. Shen Ruifu, who holds a PhD in geotech, a branch of civil engineering, committed the offence on a south-bound train as it was travelling from Ang Mo Kio to Bishan at around 7.45am on Dec 12, 2018. The 54-year-old previously worked at the National University of Singapore and had left in 2015. Defence lawyer Raphael Louis told District Judge Marvin Bay that his client committed the act of molestation at the spur of the moment and the offence did not involve skin-to-skin contact. The lawyer added that it was Shen's first brush with the law. For molestation, he could have been jailed for up to two years and fined or caned. More on this topic Related Story Two-week jail sentence for NUS student who molested woman on MRT Related Story Man, 55, jailed for rubbing against woman on MRT train
Jail for tennis coach who performed sexual acts on underage male student
SINGAPORE - A tennis coach was jailed on Friday (Dec 18) for kissing his underage male student and performing sexual acts on him. The prosecution told a district court that Phoo Siang Qing had abused the trust placed in him and performed such acts on the boy who was just 15 years old at the time. The 40-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to two years and nine months' jail for committing the offences in 2013 and 2014. He had pleaded guilty to two charges under the Children and Young Persons Act and one count of sexual penetration involving the minor. Defence lawyer Peter Fernando had pleaded for his client to be given 16 months' jail, stressing that Phoo is "sincerely repentant". Mr Fernando also told Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun that Phoo had found that he was not attracted to women and has a history of "severe depression". The lawyer added that Phoo has sought treatment and is compliant with his medication. More on this topic Related Story Veteran coach gets 21 months' jail for molesting teen athlete Related Story Courts & Crime: Read more stories
Chinese citizen sentenced to 14 months’ jail, $2,000 fine for forging passport stamps, illegal stay
SINGAPORE - For more than three years, Chinese national Chen Bichun paid for new forged passport stamps in order to remain in Singapore illegally to work as a sex worker. Her illicit stay started on March 19, 2016 and came to an end on July 23, 2019, when she was finally caught in a Balestier hotel room during a police raid. On Thursday (Nov 5), Chen was sentenced to 14 months' jail and a $2,000 fine for two charges, one under the Immigration Act and another for the forged documents. One other similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing. The court heard that her passport contained 19 entry stamps and an application to extend her short-term visit pass, all of which were forged. Investigations found that Chen came to Singapore on March 4, 2016 and was granted 14 days of stay on a social visit pass. A friend then told her that she could help her stay in Singapore and make it seem to the authorities that Chen's stay was legal. Each extension would cost $200 and last about two months. Chen agreed to the arrangement. After her friend was arrested in April 2017 and repatriated to China, Chen started getting contacted by an unidentified person to get the extensions. She w...
Jail for maid who purposely dipped baby’s hand in hot water, causing second degree burns
SINGAPORE - A maid who wanted to work for another household deliberately dipped the hand of her employer's 16-month-old baby into a pot of hot water after finding out that she would have to incur costs for a transfer. The 30-year-old Myanmar national, who cannot be named to protect the girl's identity, was sentenced on Wednesday (Oct 28) to 14 months' jail after pleading guilty to one count of using a heated substance to voluntarily cause hurt. The maid started working for the family on Dec 8 last year. Her job scope included housekeeping, cooking as well as taking care of the baby and her eight-year-old sister. After two weeks, the maid decided she wanted to work elsewhere as she did not know how to care for the baby. She approached her agency but when she learnt that she had to pay for a transfer, continued working for the family. Court documents did not state the costs involved. The maid was cooking chicken curry on Jan 14 this year in the family flat in the Buangkok area when the baby started crying at around 5.15pm. She carried the baby in her arms and continued cooking. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jane Lim said: "While the accused was carrying the victim, she felt agitated and m...