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Corpun file 1508
The Straits Times, Singapore, 4 October 1997
Man wanted for cheating 'tenants' robbed jeweller
A MAN, already wanted by the police for cheating, held up a jeweller at knifepoint and took $200,000 worth of jewellery and his car, then robbed another man of his Rolex watch in a lift.
Soh Kee Chong, 27, a first offender, admitted his wrongdoing in a district court yesterday and was sentenced to a total of seven years and four months' jail, and 24 strokes of the cane.
The jeweller was cut on the neck and had his elbow bruised during the robbery. Soh also hurt his other victim, giving him a bruise on the forehead and cuts on his hands.
He was sentenced to seven years' jail and the minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, on each of two charges of hurting someone in a robbery. The sentences are concurrent.
He was given four months' jail on one charge of cheating, with three others considered in sentencing. This sentence is consecutive.
On March 18 last year, Soh had advertised a two-room HDB flat in Henderson Road for rent at $800 a month. In this way, he conned his several victims of $8,000 in all.
A couple who viewed the flat that night signed a rental agreement the next evening, arranged to move in on April 1, and gave Soh $1,600.
The husband, Mr Khoo Boo Wai, 28, realised he had been duped when he visited the flat the day before they were supposed to move in. Someone living there told him four other people had asked about the flat as well.
Mr Khoo reported Soh to the police.
Before Soh could be arrested, he and two accomplices robbed the jeweller and used his car to escape.
He then robbed another man of his $8,000 Rolex.
Corpun file 1533
The Straits Times, Singapore, 10 October 1997
Illegal immigrants get jail and caning
SEVEN Indonesians entered Singapore illegally one night on a wooden speedboat but two days later, two of them were caught by the police.
The two -- Lajamal alias Jamu Tahir, 30, and Syahrudin Nurdin, 28 -- were sent to jail yesterday where they will also be caned.
They faced six charges each -- one of entering Singapore illegally, and five of bringing in five of their countrymen illegally into Singapore.
A district court jailed Lajamal for 54 months and gave him 19 strokes of the cane, while Syahrudin was jailed for 49 months and will get 18 strokes.
The court heard that the seven Indonesians left Batu Merah in Indonesia's Batam island at midnight on Sept 30. Lajamal and Syahrudin were each promised 200,000 rupiah (S$100) by an Indonesian man to take their countrymen to Singapore in a wooden speedboat.
But the boat's engine broke down midway, and Lajamal and Syahrudin had to drop the five men off at Pulau Ayer Chawan, an off-shore Singapore island.
The two made their way to the main island in a tug boat. They took a taxi to Lorong 22 Geylang where they were arrested by police the following day. Entering Singapore illegally carries up to six months' jail and at least three strokes of the cane.
For bringing in prohibited immigrants, they could each have been jailed for up to five years on top of their caning.
Corpun file 1611
The New Paper, Singapore, 20 October 1997
He steals 'auntie's' cameras. She wants to let him off
... but mum says: Report him
By Teo Hwee Nak
'I never expected him to do this. He looked so decent, and was so respectful. What's more, he lives just downstairs! -Madam Ramlah Harith, Muhammad Rasikin's neighbour and victim
JAILED
MUHAMMAD Rasikin was sentenced to 4½ years' jail and six strokes of the cane.
For theft in dwelling, he could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.
For housebreaking, he could have been jailed up to 10 years and caned.
For consumption of drugs, he could have been jailed up to 10 years and fined $20,000 or both jailed and fined.
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MADAM Ramlah Harith treated Muhammad Rasikin Atan like her own son. Even after he stole from her, she did not want to report him to the police. But Muhammad Rasikin's own mother had had enough of her wayward son. She told Madam Ramlah, her friend and neighbour for 10 years, to make a police report.
She said she "could not control him anymore".
Muhammad Rasikin was jailed last Thursday for stealing from the "auntie" who had given him food and shelter. He will also be caned. (See report left.)
The 19-year-old had knocked on Madam Ramlah's door on June 3. He told her that he had been locked out of his flat.
She let him in. The 39-year-old hotel cleaner allowed Muhammad Rasikin, who lived one storey below her flat, to stay for the night. She even told him: "There's food in the kitchen. Feel free to take and eat."
But Muhammad Rasikin made himself far too much at home. He ransacked Madam Ramlah's cupboard and made away with two Nikon cameras worth about $700.
SO MUCH TRUST
Madam Ramlah had trusted Muhammad Rasikin enough to leave him alone in the flat the day after he stayed with her family. She and her husband went out to work and her two children left for school.
"I never expected him to do this. He looked so decent, and was so respectful. What's more, he lives just downstairs!" said Madam Ramlah.
"So when my husband caught him the next day and he admitted to the theft, we had no heart to turn him in to the police."
But the teenager's mother told her to teach the boy a lesson. So Madam Ramlah made a police report.
In court, Muhammad Rasikin, dressed in jeans and a blue netted T-shirt, faced charges of housebreaking and drug consumption, in addition to theft.
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Corpun file 1606
Straits Times, Singapore, 23 October 1997
Repeat offender, 16, gets deterrent sentence
By Chua Chin Hon
A BOY of 16 was sentenced by a district court yesterday to 18 months' jail and six strokes of the cane for beating up a 17-year-old student with the help of 19 other youths.
The court was told that Kelvin Yong Li Chun, a school drop-out, was a repeat offender. He was convicted two years ago in a juvenile court for rioting and was placed under probation for 1½ years.
District Judge Khoo Oon Soo said a deterrent sentence was necessary as he had been given the chance to reform but had failed to change for the better.
Yong's mother, a production operator, wept when her son was sentenced. An only son, Yong was well-behaved at home, she said. So she did not know he was mixing with bad company again. She said: "My husband and I are busy with work. We don't have the time to keep an eye on him all the time." They also have two daughters.
The court heard that Yong and four friends decided to attack student Soh Boon Keong who had beaten up one of their friends. They then rounded up more people to take revenge.
On July 8, at about 1.30 pm, Yong and his friends went to the youth's school near Upper Bukit Timah Road. Yong waited outside the gates while three of his friends arrived later in a taxi. The rest waited at a nearby cemetery. When Mr Soh came out, Yong and his three friends followed him. Yong then pulled him by his hand and punched him. The other three joined in the attack, kicking and punching him.
Yong's other friends waiting at the cemetery then came along and joined in the assault.
A medical report showed that Mr Soh sustained multiple stab wounds on his face, right loin and thighs.
Yong could have been jailed for up to five years and caned.
Corpun file 1692
The New Paper, Singapore, 31 October 1997
First he says: I'm innocent
Then in court he says: I'm guilty
By Woon Wui Tek
JAILED
Zulkarnaen was sentenced to 22 months' jail and seven strokes of the cane.Apart from Zulkarnaen, the rest were sentenced in May and June. The forgetful Rizal received 24 months and eight strokes on May 27. | AFTER a bloody knife attack on unarmed youths, 13 people were hauled up. Twelve pleaded guilty. But national serviceman Zulkarnaen Jamaludin demanded his day in court. His trial began earlier this week. The initial testimony - in his lawyer's words - "was helpful to him". Then the tide turned and on Day Two, Zulkarnaen, 21, changed his mind and pleaded guilty, too. Why the about-turn? Because of a flip-flop by a friend. When Zulkarnaen's trial began, the prosecution produced Rizal Ali, one of the attackers. In a signed statement recorded by a police officer, Rizal said he saw Zulkarnaen "holding a kitchen knife in his right hand and attack" one of the youths. This was at 1 am on March 12, when six youths were attacked in a playground in front of Block 26, Chai Chee Road. But when put on the witness stand this week, Rizal wasn't so sure. Speaking in Malay, the 22-year-old claimed he "couldn't remember". Under cross examination by the defendant's lawyer, Rizal said: "When the rest of us attacked, I myself attacked" and did not notice what Zulkarnaen was doing." Nice try. But the court decided to accept Rizal's original - and, for Zulkarnaen, damning - statement, taken on Oct 13 at Moon Crescent Prison.
Zulkarnaen's lawyer, Mr John Abraham, recalled: "This implicated my client. He could not run away from that." And so, at 12.20 pm, the lawyer "took fresh instructions" from his client. A new plea was entered: Guilty. In fact, the attack had been "revenge" for an incident on March 9 - in which Zulkarnaen had not been involved. A friend of the victims (who were aged between 15 and 22) had punched Rizal Ali - but then apologised. The attackers were aged between 15 and 25.
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