‘Talk to rich people nicely, you’re a poor girl’ – 2 women fined $3k each for verbally abusing auxiliary police officer

SINGAPORE - The victim was merely doing her job but had to suffer insults such as "talk to rich people nicely, you're a poor girl". These words came from two women after an auxiliary police officer approached them for smoking outside a designated area. Koh Lee Yen, 50, and Chee Kam Fah, 49, were each fined $3,000 on Wednesday (Sept 8). They pleaded guilty each to one count of using insulting words against a public service worker. Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority records show that Koh and Chee are shareholders and directors of jewellery retailer Gold Star Resources. They also hold shares in other companies while Chee is a director in various firms. The court heard that the incident occurred on Sept 21 last year, outside shopping mall Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road. Ms Asyikah Suri Kamsari was on duty with her colleague in the area. She was authorised under the National Environment Agency to carry out enforcement action against public health offenders. She spotted Koh and Chee smoking outside the designated area and approached them for their personal particulars, so that she could issue a summons to them. The duo started verbally abusing her as she was recording Koh's detai...

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Deterrent policies introduced by nations around the globe

Given the health hazard posed by smoking and the peer pressure on youth to "act cool", deterrent action, like the Singapore Government's move to raise the minimum age for the purchase of cigarettes, has been implemented by countries around the globe. On Jan 1 this year, the Republic raised the minimum age for smoking to 21, from 20. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.