JAILED
Harris Thia Teck Chye (above) was sentenced to seven years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for armed robbery.

BY EUGENE WEE

HE counted on his friend.

He was wrong.

But what he did next was a crime.

Harris Thia Teck Chye repeatedly stabbed Mr Ng Wee Sing after failing to get a loan from him.

Thia, 20, who had gambled away more than $8,000 at a Tuas gambling den, expected help from Mr Ng, 24.

Mr Ng had promised to lend him $3,000. But Mr Ng changed his mind.

And Thia, a national serviceman, stabbed him.

He then helped himself to his friend's two Rolex watches and jewellery worth about $21,000.

The court heard yesterday that on May 31 at about 7.30 am, Thia met Mr Ng.

He pretended he wanted to buy a handphone and a Rolex watch from Mr Ng.

Mr Ng was showing him the items in his Jurong West Street 42 flat when suddenly, Thia pulled out a knife and attacked Mr Ng from behind, stabbing him in his arm, neck, back and chest.

Thia grabbed the watches and jewellery - and then, cut the telephone wires before searching the house for more valuables.

RETURNED THINGS

Meanwhile, Mr Ng, who is self-employed, armed himself with a hammer.

Seeing this, Thia started chasing him around the house with the knife.

At that moment, Mr Ng's younger brother, Mr Ng Wee Hock, returned home.

Mr Ng shouted to his brother to call the police. His brother rushed out.

Thia gave chase.

Mr Ng pursued Thia and caught up with him.

He asked Thia to return the stolen items.

Surprisingly, Thia handed back everything - except a $7,000 Rolex watch.

After Thia left, the younger Mr Ng returned to help his brother after calling the police.

The elder Mr Ng was then taken to the National University Hospital where he was treated for multiple injuries, including a 4 cm stab wound in his chest.

Thia later returned the watch to one of Mr Ng's friends before surrendering himself to the police on the same day.

In mitigation, defence counsel Dwayne Tan said Thia had been taking anti-depressants at the time because of his gambling losses.

He also said that Thia had taken the watches and jewellery out of "frustration" over Mr Ng's sudden change of mind.

Mohd Fathi was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison, effective from June 30.

BY LEONG MAY LING

DASHED: Mohd Fathi had soccer dreams.

HE wanted to be a national football player like his dad was. That was Mohammad Fathi's dream. To play for the Lions like his father Mohd Yunus Baba did in 1972.

And he had enough talent to get into an S-League club despite his criminal record.

Mohd Fathi, 22, had been charged with getting into a fight in July 1997.

He spent six months in jail and received three strokes of the cane.

Yet he was asked to be a part-time player for the Clementi Khalsa S-League team.

It was his second chance to make good after a promising career cut short by jail.

And he seemed close to getting his dream.

At Khalsa, he impressed even the former national coach Jita Singh, who said: "The boy shows great potential and promise to be a national player."

But Mohd Fathi blew it again. Threw away even his second chance.

When on June 29 he woke up from a drunken stupor in a police station.

HOUSEBREAKING

And realised that he had just been arrested for housebreaking. No more football for him for the 1½ years he will be in jail.

If only he had known how close he had been to achieving his dream.

Jita Singh and Khalsa had been training him to be a full-time pro and were prepared to give him a contract when the S-League resumed in August.

But he threw it all away. On a wild night out that ended in a drunken break-in into a coffeeshop. It was his friends who did it, not he, said his lawyer.

But how could he, with a jail sentence behind him and a bright future ahead, be so careless and fall into wrong company?

Lions can't.

His father, Mohd Yunus Baba, a former national team striker, was coach of the South Avenue football team.

And Mohd Fathi had been following him around since he was three years old.

His father was his personal coach, and the training intensified when at 14, Mohd Fathi said he wanted to be a national player.

He even got to play for his father's club.

"We play together," said Mohd Yunus proudly.

And now Mohd Fathi has blown it. With one night's mistake.

But in football, one hardly gets yet another chance.

JAILED
The judge sentenced him to 7½ years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane. He could have been jailed up to 14 years and caned at least 12 strokes.

BY LINGAM PONNAMPALAM

OUT after seven months' jail and three strokes of the cane, S Ganeson was free - to make more trouble.

What did the 26-year-old do after getting out of jail?

Go back to crime.

He had been jailed for being an illegal immigrant and using another person's identity card.

Released on Feb 12 this year, he was given a special pass letting him stay in Singapore for two more weeks.

Instead, the Sri Lankan national overstayed 161 days.

And as if that offence wasn't serious enough, he went on a crime spree.

His first hit was on an unsuspecting barber.

After meeting unknown accomplices at a Ghim Moh coffeeshop on May 25, he hatched a plan to rob the lone barber.

At around 2.20 pm, they went into the barbershop on the pretext of shaving their beards.

After the shave, they paid the $7 bill with a $20 note.

When the barber, Mr Mahalingam Narayanaswami, opened his drawer to return them the change, they swung into action.

Ganeson secured the door and drew the curtains.

ROBBED WOMAN

One accomplice picked up an 8-cm-long razor and held it against the 64-year-old man's throat.

They then tied him to a chair with a piece of cloth, took a metal tin containing $740 and ran out.

Their next victim was an opera singer.

Madam Toh Yuu, 52, was returning home to her Clementi West flat just past midnight on Aug 6.

Unknown to her, Ganeson and an accomplice were on the prowl, looking for an easy target to rob.

They robbed Madam Toh, at her very doorstep.

While Ganeson faced her armed with a machete, his accomplice grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her throat.

They robbed her of a gold chain with a fish pendant worth $3,000 and $1,000 in cash.

Suddenly, her son, Mr Chng Chin Joo, opened the door to the flat and spotted them.

The robbers fled down the stairs with Mr Chng in hot pursuit.

They were stopped by patrolling police as they were trying to board a taxi and make their getaway.

His accomplice fled in a different direction and is still at large.

The Electric New Paper. Copyright © 1999
Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.