DJ murder, judge explains sentence

A high court judge has explained why he jailed a woman who plotted the murder of her husband for only nine years, rather than throw her into prison for life.

Justice Chan Seng Onn said Aniza Essa, 25, was not likely to repeat her offence and, therefore, did not need to be locked up for good.

Prosecutors, who had asked that Aniza be sentenced to life imprisonment, are appealing against the nine-year jail term.

She had pleaded guilty to getting her 16-year-old lover to kill her husband Manap Sarlip outside the couple’s flat.

Justice Chan said the prosecution’s concern that Aniza might do the same again if released from jail was ‘highly speculative’.

Among other things, prosecutors had suggested in their written submissions that if, in the future, she were to enter into a second abusive or difficult marriage, she could fall into depression again and resort to the same violence to solve her problem. (story)

William Ding Chun Fong wins appeal

Former teacher William Ding Chun Fong, 36, on Wednesday won his appeal against conviction for molesting two schoolboys.

Four secondary school students accused Ding of molesting them in separate incidents between 2001 and 2005.

Ding denied the accusations and fought the case in an 80-day trial that spanned nine months.

He was found guilty in March last year by District Judge Jasbendar Kaur on three charges involving two boys and sentenced to a year’s jail. Ding was acquitted of six other charges involving the other two boys.

Ding choked back tears as an appeal judge on Wednesday acquitted him of molesting two schoolboys.

On hearing that he had won his appeal against his conviction last year by a lower court, he first appeared stunned. (story)

Conman gets 3.5 years

A conman who cheated 10 victims of about $215,000 over the past decade was sentenced to a total of 42 months jail on Monday on nine charges.

Azman Bachok, 41, unemployed, admitted to seven charges of cheating, one count each of forgery and theft between 1998 and last November.

A district court heard that he used ruses such as getting his victim to be his cleaning contract partner, claiming to be an Australian and being able to get jobs for his friends Down Under, and getting loans from his victims to settle his legal fees before he could get hold of his civil suit claims.

He also stole $500 from a 52-year-old colleague who had asked him to withdraw $1,000 on her behalf from the ATM on Nov 20, 2004.

Instead, he withdrew $1,500 without her knowledge and kept $500 for himself. (story)

Prisoners getting more interviews than you

Selected prison inmates no longer feel like they are on blind dates when they meet prospective employers to discuss jobs while still in jail. Under a new programme by the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (Score), inmates and employers understand more about each other well before job interviews are held.

Score partnered the Workforce Development Agency for this project.

Previously, there were no concerted efforts to screen, prepare and train the inmates before they signed up with prospective employers at job fairs.

But under the ‘Prepare and Place’ Project, inmates who are selected come up with the industries they are keen on working in. (story)

Ring swallowing thief gets 1.5 years in jail

An odd job worker thought he had hit on the ideal way to swipe a diamond ring from a jeweller: he swallowed it, price tag and all. But Mohamad Azman Abdullah, 48, was caught right away, and handed to the police, who took him to hospital.

At Tan Tock Seng Hospital, doctors inserted a long flexible tube down his throat and into his tummy, using instruments at the end to fish out the $2,689 sparkler and its gold setting.

He had to stomach this uncomfortable procedure, called an endoscopy, which is usually done without anaesthesia.

In court on Wednesday, Azman pleaded guilty to the theft and was jailed 1 1/2 years. (story)

Marcus Ng Yi Loong gets 1 week in jail

Former teen actor Marcus Ng Yi Loong, 21, began his one-week jail term on Tuesday after he failed in his appeal to get his sentence for insubordination quashed.The High Court on Tuesday upheld the jail sentence meted out by a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) court martial in July last year. He was also reprimanded by a Military Court of Appeal for being rude to his superior.

This is the second time he has been hauled up since he started his military service in September 2006.

Ng, who holds the rank of Private, is perhaps best-known as the rebellious teen in the TV sitcom Phua Chu Kang.

Ng’s troubles in the SAF began in October 2006 when his superiors at the SAF Medical Training Institute slapped him with four charges for offences including not obeying orders.

In February last year, while he was being investigated by the SAF legal process, Ng chased and argued aggressively with a 50-year-old woman Warrant Officer in his unit’s Operations Room. (story)

Former trader found guilty

High Court has found a former stock trader guilty of posting false, price sensitive information on the Internet about listed company Datacraft Asia.Able Wang Ziyi, 42, now faces a possible jail term of up to seven years and a fine of $250,000 when his sentence is passed in January.

The High Court overturned last year’s acquittal of Wang, who had posted a claim that Datacraft’s office was raided by police in 2004.

In his ruling on Thursday, Judge VK Rajah said stock traders should be responsible for what they post on the Internet because if the rumour turns out to be false or unsubstantiated, they could face prosecution. (story)

Mail sentenced to 3 weeks in jail for dog smuggling

Man who smuggled a puppy into Singapore in a hand-carry paper bag was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on Friday.Mechanic Tan Chai Teck, 29, who will start his sentence at the end of the month, pleaded guilty to importing the two-month-old puppy on Aug 20, with a friend.

A warrant of arrest was issued against Tan’s friend, Ching Mee Ling, 32, a Malaysian masseuse, who failed to turn up in court for the summons.

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority prosecutor Yap Teck Chuan said the couple arrived at the Woodlands checkpoint in a Singapore registered taxi.

On checking the woman’s belongings, a police officer found the brown puppy - a shih tzu - in a hand-carry paper bag. Tan could not produce any import document for the puppy he had bought from a pet shop in Malacca. (story)

Bank employee jailed for fraud

She conned 17 victims of a whopping $1.5 million in eight years.

Between 1997 and 2005, Loh Lye Quen committed a total of 101 offences of deceiving her victims into investing between $1,000 and $225,000 in her purported family business dealing with property, construction and transportation in Malaysia.

The 53-year-old former bank employee pleaded guilty on Friday to 10 charges of cheating six victims of a total of $879,000 and was jailed a total of 61 months.

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