Latest news with #InstituteofMentalHealth
New Paper
2 days ago
- New Paper
Jail for man who stole from doctor, verbally abused police officer, crashed PMA inside hospital
Over a period of six months, a man embarked on a series of offences against public servants including a doctor, a police officer and a security guard. Lester Tan Jian Ming, 40, also admitted to speeding on his personal mobility aid (PMA) inside a hospital, which led to him crashing it against a wall twice. On May 30, Tan was sentenced to 13 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to six charges including for assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant, theft, mischief, committing rash acts and harassment. Five charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration during his sentencing. The court heard that on Sept 20, 2024, Tan was seeking medical treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The prosecutor said Tan was under the influence of drugs at the time, but did not reveal which ones. As a doctor was attending to him, he reached into the front pocket of the doctor's uniform and stole her iPhone. On Feb 11, Tan was hospitalised at TTSH when he encountered a doctor conducting her rounds at 9am and asked her for his medication that had been prescribed by the Institute of Mental Health. When the doctor advised him to collect the medication from IMH, he became agitated and verbally threatened her. The doctor told a colleague about the interaction, and they called for police assistance. At about noon that day, Tan was discharged from the hospital and escorted out of the ward by two auxiliary police officers. He was using a PMA at the time. As he left the gantry of the ward, he sped off on his PMA and crashed into a wall. Undeterred, he sped off again and hit a dry wall near the lift lobby, causing more than $500 in damage. On Feb 26, Tan was arrested near Upper Boon Keng Road and taken to Changi General Hospital, as he was intoxicated on drugs. As he was in police custody, Tan's hands were restrained. His belongings were sealed in two polymer bags placed near his bed. Sometime around 3pm, he slipped out of his restraints and verbally threatened the police officer who was watching over him. He then grabbed one of the polymer bags to retrieve his mobile phone and got in a tussle with the officer, resulting in the bag being torn. After the officer called for backup, Tan began to hurl vulgarities and threaten another security officer.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Jail for man who stole from doctor, verbally abused police officer, crashed PMA inside hospital
SINGAPORE – Over a period of six months, a man embarked on a series of offences against public servants including a doctor, a police officer and a security guard. Lester Tan Jian Ming, 40, also admitted to speeding in his personal mobility aid (PMA) inside a hospital, which led to him crashing it against a wall twice . On May 30, Tan was sentenced to 13 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to six charges including for assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant, theft, mischief, committing rash acts and harassment. Five charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration during his sentencing. The court heard that on Sep 20, 2024, Tan was seeking medical treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The prosecutor said Tan was under the influence of drugs at the time, but did not reveal which ones. As a doctor was attending to him, he reached into the front pocket of her uniform and stole her iPhone. On Feb 26, Tan was arrested near Upper Boon Keng Road and taken to Changi General Hospital as he was intoxicated on drugs. As he was in police custody, Tan's hands were restrained. His belongings were sealed in two polymer bags placed near his bed. Sometime around 3pm, he slipped out of his restraints and verbally threatened the police officer who was watching over him. He then grabbed one of the polymer bags to retrieve his mobile phone and got in a tussle with the officer, resulting in the bag being torn. After the officer called for backup, Tan began to hurl vulgarities and threaten another security officer. On Feb 11, a doctor at Tan Tock Seng Hospital was conducting her rounds at 9am and came across Tan who asked her for his medication that had been prescribed by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). When the doctor advised him to collect the medication from IMH, he became agitated and verbally threatened her. The doctor told a colleague about the interaction, and they called for police assistance. At about noon that day, Tan was discharged from the hospital and escorted out of the ward by two auxiliary police officers. As he left the gantry of the ward, he sped off in his PMA and crashed into a wall. Undeterred, he sped off again and hit a dry wall near the lift lobby, causing more than $500 in damages. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
New Paper
3 days ago
- New Paper
Woman who claimed 'voices' told her to abuse maid has jail term more than doubled to 7 years
A maid abuser had her prison sentence more than doubled to seven years after she appealed to the High Court to avoid jail time on grounds that she heard voices telling her to hurt the domestic worker. Anita Damu, 57, was initially sentenced to two years and seven months' jail in 2018, after a district judge accepted two psychiatric reports that she had abused the victim under the influence of auditory hallucinations. This explanation has since been rejected by the court. In increasing her sentence on May 26, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the sentences imposed by the lower court on each of the charges she faced were manifestly inadequate. "Among other things, they were infected by the erroneous assumption that the acts of abuse were caused by the auditory hallucinations," he said. Anita, who is also known as Shazana Abdullah, had inflicted serious physical and psychological abuse on her 29-year-old Indonesian helper between 2014 and 2015. The abuse came to light in April 2015 after a Ministry of Manpower officer received information that the maid was being abused by her employer, and visited the flat. The officer reported the matter to the police after observing that the helper had welts on her face, burn marks on her hands and scars on her body. In September 2018, Anita pleaded guilty to five charges: one each for depriving the victim of rest, splashing her with hot water, burning her with an iron, poking her with a metal prong, and hitting her in the face with a slipper. Four other charges - for slapping the victim, pinching her with pliers on two occasions and pushing a cup of hot water towards her mouth - were taken into consideration for sentencing. During a sentencing hearing in October 2018, while her lawyer was arguing for her to be given a fine, she suddenly felt giddy and had to be taken to hospital. In December that year, she was sentenced to two years and seven months' jail. She was also ordered to pay $8,000 in compensation to the victim. Both she and the prosecution appealed against the sentence. The prosecution also appealed for a higher sum of compensation. She has paid an additional $4,000 in voluntary compensation on top of the ordered sum. When the appeal was first heard in 2019, Chief Justice Menon ruled that the psychiatric reports alone were not sufficient for the district judge to conclude that the woman was hearing voices when she abused the maid. The Chief Justice sent the case back to the lower court to determine whether she had suffered from such a condition. He said the offender should take the stand, as it was incumbent on her to present the best evidence available to support her assertion. Before she could testify, Anita was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She was assessed to be of unsound mind and unable to understand and follow court proceedings. Since June 2023, she has been confined at the Institute of Mental Health. On Aug 5, 2024, she was certified to be of sound mind and capable of standing trial. She and her family members eventually took the stand to testify before the district judge. In a judgment dated April 2, the district judge concluded that she did not suffer from auditory hallucinations and that her claim was a "fabrication". The appeal before Chief Justice Menon resumed on May 26. Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh sought a jail term of four years and seven months, standing by the prosecution's submissions in 2019. He also sought a further $9,588 in compensation. Chief Justice Menon said the sentence sought by the prosecution was "manifestly insufficient", looking at the totality of the offending behaviour, the harm to the victim and the cruelty towards the victim. He said he will explain his sentencing decision in a written judgment at a later date. He also allowed the prosecution's appeal on the compensation order. This means Anita has to pay a total of $21,588 to the maid. Chief Justice Menon noted that while most foreign domestic workers are well-provided for, occasionally some do not adjust well or have employers who fail to care for them. "At times, they even fail to accord them the basic dignity due to a fellow human being. Sadly, this is such a case," he said. He added that it was a "matter of regret" that the case has taken this long to be resolved, in large part because of the litigation choices made by the accused.
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Woman who claimed ‘voices' told her to abuse maid in Singapore has jail term more than doubled to seven years
SINGAPORE: A maid abuser had her prison sentence more than doubled to seven years after she appealed to the High Court to avoid jail time on grounds that she heard voices telling her to hurt the domestic worker. Anita Damu, 57, was initially sentenced to two years and seven months' jail in 2018, after a district judge accepted two psychiatric reports that she had abused the victim under the influence of auditory hallucinations. This explanation has since been rejected by the court. In increasing her sentence on Monday (May 26), Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the sentences imposed by the lower court on each of the charges she faced were manifestly inadequate. 'Among other things, they were infected by the erroneous assumption that the acts of abuse were caused by the auditory hallucinations,' he said. Anita, who is also known as Shazana Abdullah, had inflicted serious physical and psychological abuse on her 29-year-old Indonesian helper between 2014 and 2015. The abuse came to light in April 2015 after a Ministry of Manpower officer received information that the maid was being abused by her employer, and visited the flat. The officer reported the matter to the police after observing that the helper had welts on her face, burn marks on her hands and scars on her body. In September 2018, Anita pleaded guilty to five charges: one each for depriving the victim of rest, splashing her with hot water, burning her with an iron, poking her with a metal prong, and hitting her in the face with a slipper. Four other charges – for slapping the victim, pinching her with pliers on two occasions and pushing a cup of hot water towards her mouth – were taken into consideration for sentencing. During a sentencing hearing in October 2018, while her lawyer was arguing for her to be given a fine, she suddenly felt giddy and had to be taken to hospital. In December that year, she was sentenced to two years and seven months' jail. She was also ordered to pay $8,000 in compensation to the victim. Both she and the prosecution appealed against the sentence. The prosecution also appealed for a higher sum of compensation. She has paid an additional $4,000 in voluntary compensation on top of the ordered sum. When the appeal was first heard in 2019, Chief Justice Menon ruled that the psychiatric reports alone were not sufficient for the district judge to conclude that the woman was hearing voices when she abused the maid. The Chief Justice sent the case back to the lower court to determine whether she had suffered from such a condition. He said the offender should take the stand, as it was incumbent on her to present the best evidence available to support her assertion. Before she could testify, Anita was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She was assessed to be of unsound mind and unable to understand and follow court proceedings. Since June 2023, she has been confined at the Institute of Mental Health. On Aug 5, 2024, she was certified to be of sound mind and capable of standing trial. She and her family members eventually took the stand to testify before the district judge. In a judgment dated April 2, the district judge concluded that she did not suffer from auditory hallucinations and that her claim was a 'fabrication'. The appeal before Chief Justice Menon resumed on May 26. Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh sought a jail term of four years and seven months, standing by the prosecution's submissions in 2019. He also sought a further $9,588 in compensation. Chief Justice Menon said the sentence sought by the prosecution was 'manifestly insufficient', looking at the totality of the offending behaviour, the harm to the victim and the cruelty towards the victim. He said he will explain his sentencing decision in a written judgment at a later date. He also allowed the prosecution's appeal on the compensation order. This means Anita has to pay a total of $21,588 to the maid. Chief Justice Menon noted that while most foreign domestic workers are well-provided for, occasionally some do not adjust well or have employers who fail to care for them. 'At times, they even fail to accord them the basic dignity due to a fellow human being. Sadly, this is such a case,' he said. He added that it was a 'matter of regret' that the case has taken this long to be resolved, in large part because of the litigation choices made by the accused. - The Straits Times/ANN
CNA
6 days ago
- General
- CNA
Man jailed for urinating at Sengkang bus interchange
SINGAPORE: A 59-year-old man who urinated at Sengkang bus interchange and stole valuables from vehicles while out on bail was jailed for eight months and one week on Tuesday (May 27). Neo Beng Yeow pleaded guilty to one charge of public nuisance and was sentenced to one week's jail. He also pleaded guilty to one charge of cheating by trying to use a stolen debit card, and one charge of fraudulent possession of stolen valuables, and was sentenced to eight months' jail for these offences. Around noon on Feb 12, Neo was seen urinating at a corner of Sengkang bus interchange by a customer service officer, who informed a security supervisor. This was after the security supervisor had already seen Neo eating and making a mess at a bench in the interchange, and told him to stop doing so. The supervisor caught Neo as he was about to board a bus from the interchange, but Neo denied having urinated. The security supervisor reported Neo to the police after confirming his actions through closed-circuit television footage. He was arrested the same day. Neo was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for assessment for about two weeks in February, after which he was released on bail. But on Mar 1, he reoffended by stealing valuables including S$250 in cash and a debit card from an unlocked car. Neo had asked the owner of the valuables if she could give him S$10, but when she refused, he committed the theft when she was not around. He later tried to use the stolen card to pay for about S$40 worth of alcohol at a restaurant, but was unsuccessful as the victim blocked the transaction in time. He reoffended again on Mar 2, when a member of the public saw him take a cashcard from a motorcycle and informed the police. The police found a wallet, S$120 in cash and an ATM card on Neo. These were suspected to have been stolen as he could not explain how they came into his possession. The court heard that Neo was previously fined S$1,500 for public urination in 2024, and a similar offence was taken into consideration for sentencing in 2016. "The act of public urination undermines public decency and hygiene. His repeated conduct is indicative (of) a deliberate disregard for the law and societal standards," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Adelle Tai. Since 2016, Neo has also appeared in court seven times for theft-related convictions. Ms Tai called for a heavier sentence given his "litany" of prior related offences. With Neo's conviction, at least four men have been hauled to court for urinating at public transport facilities this year. Two men were fined S$2,000 each for incidents at Outram Park MRT station and Potong Pasir MRT station in January.
