Pre-sentencing therapy helps offenders with underlying issues to break cycle of reoffending
Pre-sentencing therapy helps offenders with underlying issues to break cycle of reoffending
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 19 May 2025
Author: Shermaine Ang
The Pathways to Accountability, Change and Transformation (Pact) programme was launched by social enterprise Centre for Psychotherapy (C4P) in January 2024 to fill a critical gap in the justice system – pre-sentencing intervention.
Being bullied throughout secondary school left Nick (not his real name) struggling with depression and anxiety. When he was unable to find a job in his 20s, he began to isolate himself at home.
He turned to pornography as an escape for his 'absolute despair', and subsequently discovered voyeuristic content, which led him to film an upskirt video. This soon escalated to a spree, with him filming such videos every two or three days 'on autopilot'.
After he was arrested in 2024, he felt helpless and came close to reoffending. The 32-year-old was referred by his lawyer to a programme designed to provide psychological support for first-time offenders.
The Pathways to Accountability, Change and Transformation (Pact) programme was launched by social enterprise Centre for Psychotherapy (C4P) in January 2024 to fill a critical gap in the justice system – pre-sentencing intervention – said C4P senior counsellor and Pact founder Gopal Mahey.
This is defined as the period between when a person is charged and when he is sentenced, which can take anywhere from four weeks to one year.
'While legal representation is often prioritised, we saw a need for structured support to address the deeper psychological and behavioural factors that contribute to offending,' Mr Gopal said.
For instance, sexual offences among young people can stem from an early exposure to pornography, absence of guidance, emotional isolation and adverse childhood experiences, with offenders internalising distorted ideas from online content.
The idea behind the programme is upstream rehabilitation and early intervention to hopefully disrupt cycles of harm, reduce reoffending, and build long-term reintegration potential.
Mr Gopal said there is a 'rupture' in the identity of an individual who commits an offence, and hence a need for the offender to rewrite his narrative. Psychological and social support catered to each offender helps them to break the cycle of reoffending and successfully reintegrate into society, he added.
Pact is tailored for those facing criminal charges, especially first-time or non-violent offences, as well as for young people and adults navigating addiction, mental health issues or identity struggles.
Offenders are referred to the programme by lawyers and the State Courts to rehabilitate them. Pre-sentencing psychotherapy is separate from mitigation, and pre-sentencing psychotherapy reports are not meant to influence the outcome of court proceedings or dictate sentencing, said Mr Gopal.
Pact includes individual and family therapy sessions, as well as a fortnightly support group. Its activities include letter-writing exercises to empathise with victims.
Pact has since supported 97 offenders, 41 of whom committed sexual crimes. Of the rest, 25 committed financial crimes, including theft; 19 committed violent crimes; 10 committed substance abuse or trafficking; and two committed traffic offences and public nuisance.
Over half of the participants were aged 19 to 29, and about a quarter were aged 30 to 39. Ten of the 97 were women.
Pre-sentence support for offenders is not widely available in Singapore, with only a handful of organisations offering this service.
The charity Prison Fellowship Singapore started offering pre-sentence support in 2020, and the service has helped 48 offenders and their families since then.
Under the service, care managers and social workers prepare first-time offenders for what to expect for their sentence and in prison, including when their families and the charity's care managers can visit them.
Prison Fellowship Singapore also refers offenders or their families who need extra help – such as with the implications of incarceration on the family – to the psychologists it partners with.
Lawyer James Gomez of Edmond Pereira Law Corporation said he refers to Pact young people and those with addictions, or deeper psychological factors that contribute to offending.
Lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya of Regent Law refers clients to Pact for a 'holistic' approach to resolve court matters, as some issues clients struggle with are out of the area of expertise of lawyers.
Mr Gomez said clinical counselling and psychotherapy reports put together by C4P on the offenders also help lawyers to bring up mitigating factors, such as childhood trauma, to the court, to seek a lighter sentence for their clients.
He added that he has seen young clients who were loan sharks coming out of the programme telling him about their aspirations to make money in a different way – by establishing their professional careers.
Mr Kalaithasan said he has seen clients he referred for pre-sentence support stay out of trouble with the law. 'They become more disciplined. They appreciate the effort by other people to help them out. So far, I do not have repeat clients who come back with similar issues.'
Mr Gopal said he is working towards doubling Pact's annual capacity from 70 to 140 participants. The programme is run by four staff and two interns. Down the line, he hopes to potentially integrate Pact as a national upstream rehabilitation option supporting young people and first-time adult offenders before sentencing.
Things are looking up for Nick, who is under forensic investigation for voyeurism and possession of offensive material. He is waiting to be formally charged.
Since his arrest, the self-employed marketer has spent a year in therapy, including counselling sessions with his parents, and support group sessions.
The sessions have helped him to shift the focus to his parents and what he wants to achieve for himself.
He said his father, whom he barely spoke to in years, now leaves him canned iced coffees in the fridge. He also travelled overseas with his family for the first time in a long while.
He has managed to find two good friends after 'putting himself out there' and joining online groups, and is now motivated to help others who are bullied or struggling with mental illnesses.
'The small positive steps that I've taken after my arrest actually cumulated in something bigger. So now I'm at a point where better things are happening for me, and it's like a positive loop,' he said.
Beyond pre-sentencing, Pact provides support to offenders in prison and up to 12 months post-release.
Another participant, Tim (not his real name), also turned to filming upskirt videos as an escape when stress from his work and conflicts with his wife made him feel 'out of control'.
'Doing something that felt wrong, that feeling was very addictive,' he recalled.
Tim was jailed for three months in 2019 for voyeurism, and three weeks in 2024 for trespass on a female dormitory in a tertiary institution.
He held distorted thoughts around the girls he took upskirt videos of – that they wanted to show off by dressing 'provocatively', and that he was not touching or harming them when he filmed them.
Tim said having Pact's support from January 2024, at the referral of his lawyer, helped him figure out why he felt the way he did.
'When I first came in, I actually remember thinking that Mr Gopal could have seen similar cases happen so many times that he is one step ahead of us.'
Tim, who is in his early 30s, has since returned to volunteer with Pact's support group.
'Some people have been committing an offence because it has been something that they feel they have no choice but to keep doing. They don't have something else to replace it.
'So without all this support, it's very easy to reoffend. The only thing that is stopping them is fear.'
He said having others journey with him offered him a way out, reminding him that he was not alone.
It is a reminder, he said, to those who have served their sentences: 'You still deserve to live a meaningful and fulfilling life that also helps to contribute positively to society.'
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
Print
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Singapore Law Watch
a day ago
- Singapore Law Watch
Beach Road slashing: Man gets 19 years' jail, caning for attempted murder of wife
Beach Road slashing: Man gets 19 years' jail, caning for attempted murder of wife Source: Straits Times Article Date: 04 Jun 2025 Author: Selina Lum In sentencing, the court said the relentlessness of the accused's 'vicious and cruel' attack aggravated his crime. A 49-year-old man, who relentlessly slashed his wife outside a row of restaurants in Beach Road, was sentenced to 19 years' jail and eight strokes of the cane on June 3. Cheng Guoyuan had pleaded guilty on May 20 to a charge of attempted murder over the vicious attack, which took place at about 5.30pm on April 14, 2022. He admitted that he had intended to kill Ms Han Hongli, 44, if she refused to confirm that she would not expose wrongdoing that he had committed against their daughter, 23, from her previous marriage. Cheng admitted that he was angry with his wife for refusing to forgive him for what he had done to their daughter, and he hated that Ms Han had a hold over him. The nature of the wrongdoing was not disclosed in court. Ms Han, whose left hand was almost severed during the attack, is now blind in her left eye. Her face is permanently disfigured, and the functioning of her arms is impaired. The tip of her right ring finger was also amputated. In sentencing, Justice Audrey Lim said the relentlessness of Cheng's 'vicious and cruel' attack aggravated his crime. The judge noted that Cheng had repeatedly slashed Ms Han with a cleaver until the blade broke off from the handle. After Ms Han managed to run away, Cheng did not give up but went to look for her to renew his attack with another cleaver he found. The judge also noted that Cheng did not stop despite people shouting at him and intervening by throwing objects at him. However, she rejected the prosecution's submission for Cheng to be jailed for life. The prosecution had sought life imprisonment and eight to 12 strokes of the cane for Cheng, while the defence had asked for a sentence of 15 years' jail and five strokes of the cane. Prosecutors had also argued that the public disquiet caused was amplified because the attack was widely reported by the media and received significant attention from the public. Videos of the horrific attack were widely shared on social media and in message groups in 2022. While Justice Lim agreed that the public disquiet caused in this case was at a 'higher level', she added that it was not logical for an offence to be considered more harmful simply because it was widely reported. Ms Han came to Singapore to work in 2016. Her already strained relationship with Cheng worsened after she found out in April 2021 that he had done something wrong to their daughter. She threatened to report the matter to the Chinese police, but he pleaded with her not to do so. Both are Chinese nationals. Ms Han told Cheng that she would not forgive him and that she would let everyone know what he had done. She eventually agreed for Cheng to pay their daughter 40,000 yuan (S$7,200) as compensation. Cheng remained fearful that Ms Han would tell his relatives and friends about the wrongdoing, and repeatedly sought assurances from her that she would let the matter rest. He came to Singapore on April 6, 2022, to work as a kitchen assistant at a restaurant in Veerasamy Road without telling Ms Han. At the time, Ms Han was working as a manager at a steamboat restaurant in Beach Road. On April 12, 2022, Cheng came up with a plan to hack her to death with a cleaver if she refused to confirm that she would not reveal his wrongdoing. After two aborted attempts, he went to her workplace again on April 14, 2022, armed with a wooden-handled cleaver he took from work. He started slashing her in the back lane between Liang Seah Street and Middle Road. Ms Han's left hand was almost severed as she tried to block the blows with her arms while screaming for help. When the cleaver handle broke off, he pressed the blade against her neck as she lay on the ground. Ms Han managed to run away when Cheng was distracted by other people. He then went into the kitchen of her workplace to grab a steel-handled cleaver before running out to look for her. He caught up with Ms Han after she tripped and fell near a car parked in front of a hotel, and continued slashing her. As people threw various objects at him to fend him off, Cheng ran towards Beach Road but soon returned for the victim. In the course of the attack, Cheng cut his own wrists and neck with the weapons. He was eventually tasered by a police officer at Ms Han's workplace after ignoring repeated instructions to surrender. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
Singapore Law Watch
3 days ago
- Singapore Law Watch
Jail for ex-lawyer who provided legal services while barred from practice due to bankruptcy
Jail for ex-lawyer who provided legal services while barred from practice due to bankruptcy Source: Straits Times Article Date: 31 May 2025 Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib Helen Chia Chwee Imm pleaded guilty to two charges – one count each of cheating and pretending to be authorised to act as an advocate and solicitor. A former lawyer was sentenced to six months' jail on May 30 after she charged two victims for legal services, even though she had been barred from practising law due to bankruptcy. On May 26, Helen Chia Chwee Imm, 55, who has since been struck off the roll, pleaded guilty to two charges – one count each of cheating and pretending to be authorised to act as an advocate and solicitor. Two other charges were considered during her sentencing. Before handing down the sentence, District Judge James Elisha Lee said the overriding sentencing consideration for offences under the Legal Profession Act is the need to protect the public. He added that stiff sentences are warranted for such offences. Judge Lee also noted that defence lawyer Nicholas Narayanan earlier told the court that Chia had depression due to incidents involving two other clients. One of them was a woman she represented in 2015, whose child was killed by the father. The judge said that while he empathised with Chia, there was a 'lack of clarity' on whether there was a contributory link between her mental state and her current offences. In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Tay said that Chia was admitted to the roll of advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court in 1999. However, she did not have a valid certificate to practise law from Dec 17, 2016, after a bankruptcy order made against her earlier that month. Despite this, Chia met her first victim on Dec 19, 2016, for a consultation after the woman e-mailed her. They then discussed legal issues concerning the woman's care and custody of her son. Subsequently, and without Chia's involvement, the woman and her son's father signed an agreement to manage aspects of their child's life amicably. But on Aug 24, 2017, the woman contacted Chia again after disputes with the man resurfaced. She told Chia that she wanted to formally engage her as the lawyer. Chia agreed, concealing the fact that she did not have a practising certificate. After collecting $2,000 in legal fees, Chia gave her client legal advice. In a court application filed on Nov 9, 2017, Chia indicated that another lawyer was the solicitor in charge of the case, deliberately excluding her own name. It was only on Dec 18, 2017, after the woman asked Chia to attend a mediation session with her, that Chia revealed she was an undischarged bankrupt. In total, Chia collected nearly $13,700 from the woman. Separately, some time around Feb 12, 2018, Chia's friend – the second victim – asked her to act as the lawyer in her divorce proceedings and her plan to apply for a personal protection order. They met on Feb 13, 2018, and Chia reviewed her friend's divorce papers and personal protection order case file. The friend then formally engaged Chia to represent her in the divorce proceedings, and the latter did not say that she could not practise. Instead, Chia told the friend about the follow-up steps and quoted her legal fees of $20,000, saying it was a 'friend' rate – a third of what she would usually charge. After receiving a $3,000 deposit from her friend, Chia gave her legal advice and did a host of legal work for her. Chia also enlisted another lawyer to attend the court mentions for this expedited order matter. On May 2, 2018, the friend was dishonestly induced into paying her $23,000 as legal fees. Chia's bankruptcy order was annulled on May 22, 2018, and she was allowed to practise law again. But a disciplinary tribunal was appointed after a complaint of misconduct was made against her. In June 2021, Chia's friend found out from an article in The Straits Times about the tribunal that Chia had been a bankrupt and did not have a practising certificate when she was representing her. On Oct 26 that year, the tribunal found that there was cause for disciplinary action against Chia. She was struck off the roll of advocates and solicitors in August 2022. In January 2025, Chia made full restitution to the two victims of the legal fees paid to her. She is now out on bail of $80,000 and is expected to begin serving her sentence on July 21. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print 150
Singapore Law Watch
6 days ago
- Singapore Law Watch
S'pore has no jurisdiction over Audrey Fang case, can't prosecute suspect if he's deported: MHA
S'pore has no jurisdiction over Audrey Fang case, can't prosecute suspect if he's deported: MHA Source: Straits Times Article Date: 30 May 2025 Author: Aqil Hamzah & Samuel Devaraj The Ministry of Home Affairs said on May 29 that it has communicated its position to its Spanish counterparts, and that the Singapore Government would assist them within the ambit of Singapore's laws. As the fatal stabbing of Singaporean Audrey Fang took place in Spain, Singapore has no jurisdiction over the alleged murder, and thus would not be able to investigate or prosecute Singaporean suspect Mitchell Ong if he were to be deported. This follows the news on May 28 that an attempt to deport the 44-year-old by Spanish immigration authorities had been rejected by a Spanish court. In response to queries, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on May 29 that it has communicated its position to its Spanish counterparts, and that the Singapore Government would assist them within the ambit of Singapore's laws. Law enforcement agencies there, meanwhile, have told the ministry that they are currently prosecuting Ong in Spain. News of the deportation request being blocked was first reported by Spanish daily La Opinion de Murcia on May 28. The deportation request was made by Spain's General Commissariat for Aliens and Borders, a national police agency that manages immigration and border control matters, and was supported by the lawyer representing Ms Fang's family. However, a judge ruled that Ong did not meet the criteria outlined in Spain's laws pertaining to the expulsion of foreigners, one of which states that immediate deportation can take place if an individual has been charged with a crime and is given a jail sentence of fewer than six years, or is given an alternate sentence, such as a fine. As the minimum jail sentence for Ong's potential murder charge is 15 years, the former insurance agent does not meet this criterion. Ong's lawyer, Ms Maria Jesus Ruiz de Castaneda, had told The Straits Times earlier in May that she is opposing the request. The Spanish immigration authority had also requested that Ong be banned from returning to Spain for 10 years, if the deportation had gone through. Ms Ruiz de Castaneda had earlier told Spanish media that an expulsion would be a violation of the rule of law and international treaties Spain has signed and ratified. 'He is involved in ongoing criminal proceedings in Spain, where he must be tried with due process,' she said. 'Expulsion would be contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, the principle of non-refoulement and Spain's commitments against the death penalty.' She had previously called for the case to be dismissed, saying that all necessary evidence had to be examined and that Ong 'firmly and consistently' insisted he did not kill Ms Fang. Ms Fang, a 39-year-old architect, was found dead near a parking space for lorries in the town of Abanilla on April 10, 2024. She left Singapore on April 4 to travel alone to Xabia in the Valencia region of Spain, and was supposed to return eight days later, but became uncontactable on April 10. Her body was found with knife wounds and head trauma. Ong was arrested six days later. Testimonies from two of Ms Fang's friends on June 26, 2024, said Ms Fang and Ong had met on a social dating network. Her family's lawyer said she had told her friends she was meeting Ong during her holiday in Spain. In March, La Opinion reported that DNA from two men was found on her clothes, raising the possibility that more than one person was involved in her death. Ong, meanwhile, was also found to have been nominated as the sole beneficiary of Ms Fang's Central Provident Fund savings, with the accounts reportedly containing about $498,000. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
