
Man suffers gunshot wound while cycling in restricted area near SAF live-firing activity
A 42-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound about two kilometres away from a live-firing activity conducted by the Singapore Armed Forces yesterday. The police said the man was cycling with his friends near the Nee Soon 500m Open Range, a restricted area that the public does not have access to. He is in a stable condition at the National University Hospital. Under the Military Manoeuvres Act, the public is not allowed to enter gazetted areas meant for live-firing exercises. Investigations are ongoing and foul play is not suspected. Nee Soon Range has suspended live-firing activities as a precautionary measure. Rachel Teng reports.
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CNA
39 minutes ago
- CNA
Jail for private tutor who filmed himself in lewd acts as he stood behind young female students
SINGAPORE: A man who tutored female students at his flat would commit sexual acts as he stood behind the teen girls, even touching them with his private parts. The girls would be unaware of these acts as Michael Martin Lee Teck Heng, now aged 58, would place his hand on the back or shoulder of the girl to disguise the contact. His offences came to light after the private tutor was caught exposing himself in public. During investigations, police officers found at least 406 videos which Lee had filmed showing Lee exposing himself, or placing his private parts on their back or shoulder. Lee was sentenced to four years and nine months' jail on Tuesday (Jun 17) after he pleaded guilty to one count of committing an obscene act, one count of making obscene films, three counts of molest, and one count of aggravated molest. Another 10 charges relating to the same incidents were taken into consideration for sentencing. The victims, along with the address of the incident, may not be published under a gag order in order to protect the identities of the victims. HOW HE FILMED TUTEES Lee, who is married, gave mathematics and science tuition to primary and secondary school students in his home one-on-one. In May 2019, he began taking videos of himself committing sexual acts in public behind or at a distance from unsuspecting women. He did the same to tutees whom he was teaching in the living room of his unit, filming the process. A total of five female tutees were identified by the police. They were aged between 13 and 16 at the time of the offences. The victims were unaware of the acts but one of them, a 15-year-old girl, felt something was amiss and felt discomfited by the close proximity with Lee. She suspected the nature of the acts but did not confront him as she felt she might have been overthinking the matter, given her perception that Lee was religious. She also feared that he might do something worse as she was alone with him. On some occasions in 2019, Lee placed his private parts against a 16-year-old victim during their tuition sessions. He disguised the contact by placing his hand on her back or shoulder as he perpetrated lewd acts behind her. Lee claimed he did the acts as this victim had shown him care and concern and he "felt attached" to her. This eldest victim was captured in 228 videos over 13 occasions. YOUNGEST VICTIM Lee did the same with the youngest victim, who was only 13 years old at the time of the offences. She was unaware he took videos of her. "The accused admitted during investigations that the fourth victim was one of his more 'headstrong' students and he had felt a need to 'control' her," the prosecution stated. He stated that he could exert such control by committing the obscene acts. This need to control her accounted for why a high proportion of the videos featured the fourth victim, the prosecution said. On Sept 30, 2019, Lee was seen exposing his private parts at a bus stop by a woman who then called the police. Police officers who responded to the call found Lee to match the description they had been given. They checked his mobile phone and discovered the video he recorded of himself committing sexual acts. He was arrested and his phone seized. During a raid of his house, his computer was also seized. Both devices were sent for forensic examination. Hundreds of obscene films were found on his computer, with at least 545 featuring Lee committing lewd acts in public places while behind or out of sight of unidentified women in 299 incidents. At least 406 videos showed Lee doing the same behind young female subjects or placing his private parts on them in his living room over 31 incidents. In total, between May and September 2019, Lee made 951 obscene films of himself in public and in his home. LEE HAS EXHIBITIONISTIC DISORDER Lee's lawyer Joyce Khoo from law firm Quahe Woo & Palmer argued for around three years and 11 months' jail, while the prosecution sought five to six years' jail. Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim said the accused was "clearly one who has no qualms violating young women for his sexual perversion". "Further, the offences committed by the accused against his tutees are difficult to detect and were committed by the accused in his capacity as a tutor, and as someone in a position of authority over them. Both specific and general deterrence comes to the fore. "There is also an element of public protection that warrants consideration," said Ms Lim, describing the sheer number of instances on which Lee had exposed himself in public in the presence of women. "Taken together, the offences cumulatively show that the accused is a menace and a threat to the community. A lengthy sentence is called for to protect the community," she said. In mitigation, Ms Khoo said Lee had suffered from a "litany of diagnosed mental illnesses since 1997", and had "exhibitionistic disorder" at the time of the offences. She submitted at least four medical reports from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) dating back to 1997 in support of her argument. Lee had been undergoing treatment for adjustment disorder since 1997. However, after Lee stopped relying on his medication, he found himself facing stressors from his family and students in 2018 and 2019, which caused him to regress. Lee was assessed to have exhibitionistic disorder in a 2022 medical report, with an IMH doctor stating this disorder had a contributory link to Lee's offences. His risk of offending was found to be low to moderate. "Since our client's arrest in September 2019, our client has constantly expressed extreme remorse for his actions. "Our client has taken concrete steps to manage his psychiatric conditions and dedicated himself to doing everything necessary to ensure that there will not be another relapse," said Ms Khoo. "Our client's efforts since his arrest have borne fruit; our client has not reoffended in almost six years." Ms Khoo said that Lee has stopped giving tuition to focus on managing his psychiatric conditions. Disagreeing that Lee's condition should be accorded mitigating weight, Ms Lim said that the disorder was a "nothing more than a psychiatric label to describe a perverse behaviour". JUDGE'S REMARKS Principal District Judge Toh Han Li noted that exhibitionistic disorder was not an impulse control disorder. The disorder did not impair Lee's ability to exercise self control, and Lee was aware his acts - which he did of his own volition - were wrong, noted Judge Toh. The district judge gave no mitigating weight to the mental condition.


CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: The alarming resurgence of car-ramming attacks worldwide
SINGAPORE: On May 26 in Liverpool, England, a man rammed a car into crowds celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title, injuring 109 people. The attack occurred despite restricted vehicle access and roadblocks in place, leading some experts to raise questions about whether security measures were sufficient. The attacker, believed to be on drugs, managed to tailgate an ambulance that was responding to a medical emergency at the parade. The Liverpool incident highlights the unpredictable nature of vehicle-ramming attacks, which can turn celebratory occasions and moments of pride into ones of anguish and fear. It serves as a reminder for Singapore to be on guard and to continue taking the threat of car-ramming attacks seriously. Potential attackers can exploit gaps even when security measures are tight. DISGRUNTLEMENT AND ISOLATION Though not always terrorism-related, many of these incidents appear to be deliberate. A few common motivations include deep-rooted disgruntlements, social isolation and mental health-related issues. Some cases may even be impulsive acts in high-stress situations. Given the accessibility of vehicles and the relative ease with which such attacks can be executed without much planning, vehicle-ramming attacks are some of the hardest to anticipate and prevent. While car-ramming attacks are a major public safety threat, they can also be a trigger for social unrest and extremist outbursts both online and offline. The UK faced nationwide far-right rioting in August 2024, driven in large part by misinformation about the identity of an attacker who fatally stabbed three girls. To quell speculation about the identity and the motive of the Liverpool vehicle-ramming attacker, the UK police, in an unusual move, revealed that the perpetrator was a 53-year-old white British male from the Liverpool area within hours after the attack. Police also classified the attack as non-terrorism related. Even then, accusations of a cover-up on the real identity of the attacker started spreading online. Car-ramming incidents, especially those that occur at popular spots and with large crowds, have the potential to generate significant amounts of misinformation online, which will need to be managed. While most attacks of recent months were not classified as terrorism-related, vehicle-ramming continues to serve as a viable tactic by terrorists and lone wolf sympathisers of terrorist groups. Vehicle-ramming attacks spiked in 2017, with several carried out by Islamic State and its supporters across the West, but have dropped since. The recent increase in vehicle-ramming incidents could reignite terrorist interest in this tactic, as suggested by a few recent attacks. The January attack in New Orleans, which killed 15 people, was carried out by . In a parliamentary response to a question on measures in place to prevent and mitigate deliberate vehicle-ramming attacks, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam shared some of the measures Singapore deploys. These range from requiring organisers of events that attract large crowds to restrict vehicle entries and erect barriers, incorporating security features in buildings with high footfall such as vehicle bollards, and high-visibility patrols by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to deter attacks and enable faster response. Mr Shanmugam noted it will not be appropriate to 'set out all the measures that are put in place', presumably to not alert potential attackers with the tools authorities use in managing the threat. The challenge for authorities is striking a balance between preventing potential attackers from using vehicles as weapons, while not unduly restricting movements of people and vehicular traffic. Authorities in Singapore regularly assess the situation to identify potential actors and areas of vulnerability, and enhance security measures accordingly. The role of the public is also key as staying vigilant can go a long way in identifying potential attackers. Some early warning signs include surveillance and test drives, reinforcements on the vehicle and traffic anomalies. The SGSecure movement empowers members of the public to alert law enforcement of suspicious individuals and activities, and equips them with skills to protect themselves and assist others in such situations.


CNA
14 hours ago
- CNA
Man suffers gunshot wound while cycling in restricted area near SAF live-firing activity
A 42-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound about two kilometres away from a live-firing activity conducted by the Singapore Armed Forces yesterday. The police said the man was cycling with his friends near the Nee Soon 500m Open Range, a restricted area that the public does not have access to. He is in a stable condition at the National University Hospital. Under the Military Manoeuvres Act, the public is not allowed to enter gazetted areas meant for live-firing exercises. Investigations are ongoing and foul play is not suspected. Nee Soon Range has suspended live-firing activities as a precautionary measure. Rachel Teng reports.