Corpun file 24326 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 9 January 2013, p.B7

Robber hit and choked mum-to-be

She was one of two pregnant women jobless man preyed on in lifts

By Khushwant Singh

A ROBBER who targeted pregnant women punched one in the head and tried to choke her when she would not let go of her handbag.

Ms Baquiran Majella Cybelle Fernandez, 34, who was eight months pregnant, stood her ground when jobless Muhammad Noh Mohammad Jais, 26, attacked her in a lift. He tried to snatch the bag, containing $3,000, but fled empty-handed.

Two days later on Nov 14, he struck again and snatched a handbag with items amounting to $515 from Ms Chng Seok Keng. The 29-year-old victim was then nine months pregnant and also in a lift.

He admitted to the theft yesterday in a district court and was sentenced to two years in jail and four strokes of the cane. For the attempted robbery, he was jailed for four years and ordered to be caned 12 times. In total, he will serve six years behind bars and be caned 16 times.

The man, who was diagnosed as having moderate mental illness, committed the first offence in Tampines and the second in Simei between 4pm and 5pm. Both women are believed to be housewives.

Police responding to Ms Chng's call found her purple handbag and personal documents strewn at a staircase landing together with a $2 note. She was carrying about $15 in her handbag.

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Through surveillance camera footage from the lift, police established the thief's identity and Muhammad Noh, who is single, was arrested an hour later in Tampines Central. He led police to a rubbish bin where Ms Chng's iPhone, valued at $500, was found.

The prosecutor said that Muhammad Noh had picked on very vulnerable victims and should be punished severely.

In 2010, he was jailed for three years and caned 12 times for robbing a pregnant woman.

For stealing from Ms Chng, he could have been jailed between a year and seven years and was liable for caning.

The penalty for attempted robbery is a jail term of between two and seven years and caning with not less than six strokes.

Corpun file 24334 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 19 January 2013, p.A16

Kallang slashings: Cleaner gets 33 years' jail and 24 strokes

By Selina Lum

A 23-YEAR-OLD cleaner from Sarawak was jailed for 33 years and ordered to be caned 24 strokes yesterday for his role in the horrific Kallang slashings in 2010.

Hairee Landak, who was 19 years old at the time, was not armed but he punched and kicked four victims during a robbery spree from the late night of May 29 to the early hours of May 30.

The attacks were "extremely vicious", said Justice Tay Yong Kwang. They led to the death of a foreign worker and serious injuries to two foreign workers and a young Singaporean.

Hairee was initially charged with murder along with Micheal Garing, 24, and Tony Imba, 34. They are among seven men arrested for the spate of violent robberies in Kallang and Sims Drive.

Another man, Donny Meluda, remains at large. All were Sarawakians working here.

Yesterday, Hairee pleaded guilty to three charges of armed robbery with grievous hurt. A fourth charge was taken into consideration.

The court heard that the group hit on a plan to commit robberies in the Geylang area.

On the night of May 29, Hairee, with Micheal, Tony and Donny, prowled Sims Drive looking for potential victims. Micheal and Tony had parangs while Donny held a detachable tap handle.

They attacked construction worker Sandeep Singh, 26, at a playground, punching, kicking, slashing and hitting him on the head with a brick.

After fleeing with his wallet and mobile phone, they saw their next target: full-time national serviceman Ang Jun Heng, 20, who was walking home alone.

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They floored him with a flying kick from behind before beating him up and fleeing with his wallet and mobile phone.

Along Kallang Road, they kicked construction worker Shanmuganathan Dillidurai, 41, off his bicycle, attacked and robbed him of his wallet. The Indian national died at the scene.

Hairee's lawyers John Abraham and Rajan Supramaniam pleaded for leniency, saying he was young and played a minor role.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Anandan Bala argued that Hairee was "in the thick of the action" in one of the most violent and disturbing robberies in recent years.

Mr Ang lost four fingers on his left hand during the attack while the other two suffered "crippling injuries".

The murder trials of Micheal and Tony are pending. The others were sentenced to jail and caning.

Corpun file 24336 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 26 January 2013, p.B24

Jail and cane for robber after 5 years on the run

He fled to Thailand in 2007 to avoid conviction over offences

By Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

PUNISHMENT finally caught up with a young man who had stayed in Thailand for five years to avoid conviction over a spate of robberies here.

Yesterday, Chua Peng Hwee, 24, was packed off to prison for seven years and ordered to be given the maximum 24 strokes of the cane after admitting to six charges of robbery.

Another 43 charges were considered during sentencing.

Chua was 18 when he and two accomplices were involved in a crime spree in 2006.

He was subsequently charged in court with 49 offences including posing as others to cheat telcos, and rioting. When his case was fixed for him to plead guilty on March 15, 2007, he did not show up and a warrant for his arrest was issued.

He fled to Thailand and spent five years there. He married a Thai woman and is now a father of one.

He was arrested when he tried to enter Singapore on Oct 18 last year.

The six proceeded charges involved Chua and one of the accomplices, Kevin Woo Ming Yang, 22, who was sentenced to reformative training in 2007.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Lim Yu Hui said the two targeted teens to rob and would accuse them of either staring, bad-mouthing or beating up people. They would ask the victim to follow them to staircase landings of Housing Board blocks. There, they would assault the victim and take his belongings at knifepoint.

In 37 cases of robbery, the two of them, along with another accomplice, got away with about $16,000 worth of property in less than a month.

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Chua and Woo sold the stolen mobile phones, pawned a few gold chains and shared the proceeds.

Chua was arrested on Dec 8, 2006, when he tried to use a stolen identity card to apply for a StarHub line.

Lawyer Richard Lim said Chua was young and immature then and did not have the courage to face the consequences of the very serious offences he was charged with.

He foolishly absconded to Thailand.

While on the run, he had frequent nightmares about the offences, and also feared being re-arrested.

His family members, especially his mother, had advised him to surrender, which he finally did.

Mr Lim said Chua had changed, was remorseful and deeply regretted his offences.

Corpun file 24337 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 26 January 2013, p.B23

Jail, cane for slashing ex-girlfriend's husband

Victim asked for a meeting after man kept calling his wife despite warning

By Elena Chong
Court Correspondent

A HUSBAND, upset that a man had continued to call his wife despite being told not to do so, called and asked for a meeting at a coffee shop. The man used to be the woman's boyfriend. Yesterday, Muhammad Ashiq Mohamed Yasin, 27, who slashed the husband after the meeting turned chaotic, was jailed for 30 months and ordered to be given six strokes of the cane for causing grievous hurt.

The laboratory technician pleaded guilty to seriously injuring Mr Muhammad Azahar Ghulam, who suffered a fracture on his left elbow at Block 530, Woodlands Drive 14 on June 22 last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Navindraram Naidu said Ashiq and Ms Siti Zurah, 26, were in a relationship for about six years until they broke up in 2005. She married Mr Azahar, 27, the following year. But Ashiq continued to contact her, making her husband unhappy. He warned Ashiq over the phone not to do so any more, but the latter persisted.

At the meeting on June 22 in a coffee shop, Mr Azahar went with his wife and brother-in-law, while Ashiq was with a female distant relative.

DPP Naidu said the victim asked Ashiq for his motive for contacting his wife. Ashiq repeatedly said he had none. Agitated, Mr Azahar threw a lighter at Ashiq and a scuffle broke out.

Their companions separated the two men, who were also told by others in the coffee shop to go elsewhere to resolve their problem.

The parties went to the side of a road and continued exchanging words angrily.

Mr Azahar then ran towards Ashiq, who took out a 30cm-long knife and swung it at him several times.

He stopped attacking Mr Azahar only when the latter appeared unable to put up a fight.

Ashiq told the others that the victim "deserved it for what he had done".

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He left, and disposed of the knife before going home. He was arrested the next day at a friend's home. Ashiq has a prior conviction for rioting. His lawyer, Mr Mathew Kurian, said that after completing his rioting sentence in 2006, Ashiq completed the required number of modules in chemical process technology and obtained a certificate.

Ashiq realised that his offence was serious, and had learnt a severe lesson from this unfortunate episode, he added.

Mr Kurian also told the court that his client had taken a religious path to redeem himself, and is now under the guidance of religious teachers.

Ashiq could have been jailed for up to 15 years, fined or caned.