Corpun file 8285 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 5 December 2001

2 jailed for gang attack on teen

The two were part of a group of 5 young men who had taken part in a pre-planned attack on the 17-year-old in Ang Mo Kio

By Elena Chong

A TEENAGE student was slashed in the abdomen and back when he was attacked by a gang of five young men.

Naresh Kumar Nadaraja, 17, was warded in hospital for five days after the pre-planned assault, which took place on the grass verge between two blocks of flats at Ang Mo Kio Street 61.

Shanker Ramu, 19, Shashidaran Soogumar, 19, Ravikumar Supramaniam, 18, and Kavinrajmenon Sudhakavan, 17, pleaded guilty in a district court to causing grievous hurt to Naresh while being part of an illegal assembly on Aug 15 this year.

Chandran Mani, 17, pleaded guilty to causing hurt to the victim with knives, while being a member of the group.

The court heard that on the day of the attack, Shanker told Kavinrajmenon that he was going to confront Naresh in order to settle some previous dispute.

Kavinrajmenon then took Shanker to a utility room at the basement of Jurong Entertainment Centre and retrieved two knives.

They tucked a knife each under their shirts and they left for Yio Chu Kang MRT station.

They were joined by Shashidaran and Chandran along the way.

At the Yio Chu Kang MRT station toilet, Kavinrajmenon exchanged clothes with Shashidaran and handed him the knife.

The four then left the toilet and met Ravikumar opposite the station.

The five planned to assault the victim near his school at Yio Chu Kang Secondary School.

When they saw him walking on the grass verge between blocks 648 and 649 in Ang Mo Kio Street 61, they surrounded him.

At the time, Chandran was elsewhere arranging a getaway vehicle.

When one of the four asked Naresh if he was in a gang, he said he was not.

Naresh then abused Ravikumar, who swung the knife at him while Shanker slashed the victim on his abdomen.

During the attack, Kavinrajmenon ran to join Chandran. Shashidaran stood and watched.

Yesterday, Ravikumar and Kavinrajmenon were each sentenced to three years' jail and six strokes of the cane for the offence.

Ravikumar, who had a molestation charge considered, was given another two months' jail for stealing $1,000 from his father, Mr Supramaniam, 53, at the POSBank ATM in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 on July 9 last year.

The sentences are consecutive.

The court called for a corrective training report on Shanker and a reformative training report on Chandran.

Shashidaran's sentence has been deferred to another day.

Follow-up: 25 December 2001 -- Two youths in gang assault sentenced

Corpun file 8292 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 9 December 2001

Ex-pastor gets cane for molestation

By Wong Fei Wan

IF KOH Seng Kee had wanted to help the 21-year-old woman he approached along Orchard Road, he would have said he was a pastor.

He did not.

That 'strange' omission, plus other inconsistencies in his testimony during his trial for molestation, led to his conviction yesterday.

In front of about 30 crying relatives and well-wishers, District Judge Audrey Lim sentenced him to nine months' jail and three strokes of the cane.

Koh, 48, then a pastor with The Tabernacle Church and Missions in Tanjong Katong Road, had approached the woman in front of Faber House between midnight and 1 am on Feb 17. She was waiting for her husband.

Introducing himself as Victor, he asked her if she was facing problems and she replied, 'No'. She also declined his offer of a drink.

She told the court that Koh then gave her his mobile-phone number and told her she could call him if she had any problems.

After that, Koh caressed the woman's shoulder, kissed her left cheek and grabbed her right breast, she said.

But Koh testified that he went up to the woman because he sensed that she had problems and he wanted to help her.

He said he only shook her hand and put his hand on her shoulder to 'assure her that everything was okay'.

But the judge did not believe his tale and pointed out other inconsistencies.

When the woman, who Koh claimed wanted to trap him, called to meet up, he said he was busy. But he agreed to meet the woman after she phoned him again and lied to him that she was single.

The judge also pointed out that Koh had told the police that he had given the woman his number so that she could call him for a drink.

But in court, he said that he had given out his mobile-phone number so that she could call him if she had any problems.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Leong Kwok Yan said that Koh was not a serial molester and had not used force on the woman.

Mr Leong said Koh realised he had 'brought shame to his family and dishonour to God' when he succumbed to temptation.

The judge described the whole incident as 'unfortunate and regrettable', but asked church members to support their former pastor and give him another chance.

'He is, after all, human.'

[Picture of Koh, by Wong Kwai Chow, at earlier court appearance, from The Straits Times, 23 November]

Corpun file 8290 at www.corpun.com

AOL News, 11 December 2001

Briton faces Singapore cane, jail for molesting

SINGAPORE, Dec 11 (Reuters) -- A Singapore court sentenced a British tutor to six strokes of the cane and two years in jail for molesting two of his students, the man's lawyer said on Tuesday. Mark Astill, 36, pleaded guilty in a district court on Monday to molesting two six-year-old girls on eight occasions.

"He's serving time," Astill's lawyer Manoj Nandwani told Reuters on Tuesday.

The British High Commission told Reuters it was aware of the case, but unable to comment until it had spoken to Astill.

Nandwani said it was up to the prison services to arrange for Astill's caning.

The tiny city-state's strict legal system imposes canings for a range of offences.

Singapore caused a furore in 1994 when it sentenced an American teenager Michael Fay to six strokes of the cane for vandalism. His sentence was reduced to four lashes after a personal appeal by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Astill, who is a Singapore permanent resident, committed the first offence in August last year. Nandwani said in mitigation the church-going private tutor who has a Singapore wife and two young sons, was shown by doctors to be a sex addict and a victim of sexual abuse.

Astill had been attending a sexual-addiction recovery group.

"He's faced up to his problems squarely...so I do not know if he wants to appeal," Nandwani said.

Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Corpun file 8299 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 20 December 2001

Jailed gunman gets 12 strokes for previous robbery

Already in jail for life for armed robbery last year, court heard he committed another in 1998 when he took BMW

By Wong Fei Wan

A SECRET society headman already serving a life term for having an automatic pistol during a robbery was yesterday sentenced to seven years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for a separate robbery.

Sentencing Lim Peck Hui, 26, for committing robbery with hurt on Nov 17, 1998, District Judge Rahim Jalil noted that the jail term would make no difference to the headman.

In September, the High Court judge who sentenced Lim to life behind bars had ordered that he get eight strokes of the cane for an armed robbery on May 29 last year.

Lim had then fired three shots in the air to threaten his victim and frighten off the victim's friends.

Yesterday, the district court heard about another robbery, at about 4 am on Nov 17, 1998.

Mr Oh Choon Kuan, his girlfriend, Miss Tan Siew Eng, and their friend, Miss Chong June Fong, were in his red BMW when they stopped at the junction of Stadium Road and Mountbatten Road.

Lim, who was driving a Malaysian-registered car, stopped behind them but then stepped on the accelerator and hit their car.

When Mr Oh, 37, and Miss Chong, 28, got out to confront him, Lim sprayed mace into their eyes, blinding them momentarily. He then walked up to Miss Tan, who was driving, and sprayed her eyes with mace too.

Lim's accomplice, Lim Lye Kim, 24, dragged Miss Tan from the driver's seat, so Lim could get in and drive off with the $110,000 BMW. The robbers also got away with money and personal belongings.

For his role in this robbery, Lim Lye Kim was given 12 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane in an earlier court case.

Lim Peck Hui admitted his guilt yesterday. Eight other charges of robbery with hurt, robbery, attempted robbery, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful confinement and theft were considered when he was sentenced.

He had also taken a Mazda and a Mercedes-Benz once tying up a victim's hands as well as blindfolding and gagging him with masking tape. He also stole three Rolex watches.

Corpun file 8307 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 25 December 2001

Two youths in gang assault sentenced

One of the two teenagers, part of the gang of five who planned the slash attack, will receive 10 strokes of the cane

TWO youths, part of a gang of five who slashed a teenage student in the abdomen and back, were sentenced in a district court yesterday.

Shankar Ramu, 19, who was jailed and caned previously for attempted robbery, was sent for five years of corrective training and will also receive 10 strokes of the cane for causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon. One of his accomplices, Chandran Mani, 17, will be sent for reformative training.

Their victim, Naresh Kumar Nadaraja, 17, was warded in hospital for five days after the planned assault, which took place on the grass verge between two blocks of flats in Ang Mo Kio Street 61.

Three others -- Ravikumar Supramaniam, 18, Kavinrajmenon Sudhakavan, 17, and Shashidaran Soogumar, 19 -- were earlier sentenced to three years' jail and six strokes of the cane for the assault.

On Aug 15, Shankar told Kavinrajmenon that he was going to confront Naresh to settle some previous dispute.

The duo armed themselves with two knives and left for Yio Chu Kang MRT station. They were joined by the other three youths.

The five planned to assault Naresh near his school, Yio Chu Kang Secondary, but surrounded him between blocks 648 and 649, Ang Mo Kio Street 61, when they saw him. Chandran was then elsewhere arranging for a getaway vehicle.

One of them asked Naresh if he belonged to a gang. He replied no. He then hurled vulgarities at Ravikumar, who swung the knife at him, while Shankar slashed him on his abdomen. During the attack, Kavinrajmenon ran to join Chandran. Shashidaran stood and watched.

After the attack, they fled.