Latest news with #StateCourts
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Man charged over drink-driving accident in 2022, accused of drink driving again in 2024
The motorist's case has been adjourned to July 17. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG Man charged over drink-driving accident in 2022, accused of drink driving again in 2024 SINGAPORE – A motorist was charged in court on June 19 over two separate drink-driving offences nearly two years apart. Heng Zeng An, 35, is accused of failing to stop at a red light at the junction of Yishun Avenue 3 and Sembawang Road, shortly after midnight on Oct 26, 2022. His car allegedly collided with a power-assisted bicycle and its 32-year-old male rider was hurt in the accident. Heng was allegedly found to have at least 149 mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood soon after. The prescribed blood alcohol limit is 80mg/100ml of blood. The Singaporean was also charged with dangerous driving over this incident. Heng also stands accused of drink driving again on July 6, 2024, in Bishan Street 22 shortly before 5am. His breathalyser test result was found to be at least 47 mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath . The prescribed limit is 35mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. Heng's case has been adjourned to July 17. For drink driving, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $10,000, while a repeat offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $20,000. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Jail, caning for man who had over 300 videos, photos of child pornography
Gan Qi Xuan, 26, had downloaded such content from the Dark Web. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG Jail, caning for man who had over 300 videos, photos of child pornography SINGAPORE – A man who was found with 178 videos and 153 still images of child pornography in his possession was sentenced to a year and nine months' jail, and two strokes of the cane on June 19. Gan Qi Xuan, 26, had earlier downloaded such content from the Dark Web before categorising his collection on his personal electronic devices and online platforms. Court documents did not disclose how his offence came to light, but he was nabbed in a raid at his home in August 2023. On Aug 19, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of being in possession of child pornography. In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen told the court that Gan got to know about the Dark Web around 2015 and found a forum on child pornography on it. Initially, he did not download anything during his first visit as he was wary of viruses. But curiosity got the better of him about three months later, and he decided to download such videos and images from the dark web, including child abuse material. Soon after, Gan began to access the Dark Web regularly to download pornographic material, including those involving children. He would view the videos and images he downloaded before sorting them into different folders on his laptop. When the device ran out of storage space, he transferred all the material to his Google Drive account. His laptop broke down in mid-2021, and he replaced it with a central processing unit later that year. During this time, he also created a cloud storage account to store his pornographic material as the platform provided more free storage space than Google Drive. Without revealing details, defence lawyer Teo Choo Kee told the court on June 19 that Gan has lost his place in a university. Mr Teo also said that his client has stopped viewing such child abuse material by 2021 but still had files containing them in his possession when he was caught. Gan is also extremely remorseful for what he had done, the court heard. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
34 months' jail for ex-cop over $36k in bribes; earlier sentenced in 2024 for another graft case
Poo Tze Chiang arriving at the State Courts on Feb 28. The former police office rwill start serving his latest sentence after completing his earlier one. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG 34 months' jail for ex-cop over $36k in bribes; earlier sentenced in 2024 for another graft case SINGAPORE - A former police officer was sentenced to two years and 10 months' jail on June 16 after he received $36,000 in bribes. Poo Tze Chiang, 47, was also ordered to pay a penalty of $36,000 – the amount of bribes involved – and will have to spend an additional 15 weeks behind bars if he fails to fork out this amount. In 2024, he was sentenced to 6½ years' jail after receiving $32,500 in bribes in unrelated offences. For this earlier case, he was also ordered to pay a penalty of $32,500 and would have to spend an additional 13 weeks and seven days behind bars in default. On June 16, the court heard that he will start serving his latest sentence after completing his earlier one. Defence lawyer K. Jayakumar Naidu told The Straits Times that his client is no longer a police officer. Poo, who was a station inspector with the Singapore Police Force's Secret Societies Branch during both graft cases, was suspended in December 2020. In the current case, the Singaporean had received the $36,000 over seven months from Chinese national Chen Guangyun, 39, in exchange for promising to help the latter avoid prosecution over immigration-related offences. Poo failed to deliver on these promises, and Chen was convicted for his immigration offences in 2020. Following a trial, District Judge John Ng convicted each man of four counts of graft on Feb 28. Chen is expected to be sentenced in July. In earlier proceedings, the court heard that he had initially entered Singapore lawfully on Oct 20, 2014 but overstayed. On Jan 25, 2017, he was convicted of offences including overstaying before he was sentenced to six months' jail and three strokes of the cane. After serving his sentence, he was deported in June that year and banned from entering Singapore. Deputy public prosecutors David Menon and Bryan Wong had stated in court documents that Chen later entered Singapore illegally by boat and officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority arrested him. Chen was charged in court again with immigration-related offences on June 8, 2019. Court documents stated that Chen and Poo first met each other during a drinking session some time in or around 2019, and they maintained a casual acquaintance. Poo later told Chen that he was a police officer. After that, Chen told Poo that he had a pending case for entering Singapore illegally. The DPPs said that Poo told Chen that he could help the Chinese national with his ongoing case and lessen any punishment that he might face. Poo also asked Chen to pay $8,000 in exchange for his help, and the latter agreed. The prosecutors told Judge Ng that Chen handed Poo the amount in cash in or around July 2019. About a month later, Poo informed Chen that he could make him a police informant, which would allow the Chinese national to continue staying in Singapore after serving his sentence for his immigration-related offences. The prosecutors added that Poo also told Chen that he would do so only if the latter agreed to pay him $3,000 per month. The DPPs said that Chen later gave Poo a total of $18,000 between August 2019 and January 2020. In fact, Chen never provided Poo with any information. Chen later handed him another $10,000 but all these did nothing to alleviate his legal woes. The charges against Chen were maintained, and on March 30, 2020, he pleaded guilty to an offence of entering Singapore without a valid pass. He was sentenced to 12 weeks' jail and four strokes of the cane before he was deported on May 4, 2020. Chen was in China in early 2021 when he learnt that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was investigating Poo for unrelated graft offences. Chen then contacted the CPIB to report that he had paid bribes to Poo. The DPPs said that Chen was 'still desperate to work in Singapore' and returned to the country illegally in or around September 2022. Police officers later arrested him in or around April 2023 over his involvement in a fight. In his earlier corruption case, Poo had repeatedly helped two men evade arrest and received the $32,500 in bribes from the pair. Poo had committed these offences in 2019 and 2020. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Forum: Encourage more people to attend public court hearings
During a recent visit to a State Courts public hearing, I was the sole member of the public present, which highlighted a striking gap in public engagement. This prompted me to consider why open court hearings – crucial for transparency and public trust – are rarely attended in Singapore compared with other countries. Singapore's courts provide hearing schedules through an official online portal, allowing users to search months ahead. Most hearings are open to the public, except for sensitive matters held in camera. Despite this, public attendance remains low. I wonder if the issue stems from limited public awareness or more fundamental barriers to access. While basic online guides exist and the daily hearing information published on the portal is concise and accessible, I believe legal literacy remains a key challenge. The volume and detail of hearing schedules can be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with legal processes. Descriptions of hearings are also often worded in ways that are difficult for laypersons to follow. Despite reading the available online information before arriving, I still found the procedures unclear and had to seek guidance from court staff on how to observe the hearing. Clearer communication and continued public education can strengthen engagement and support open justice. Signage at courts could also be further enhanced to encourage greater attendance. With thoughtful improvements, courtrooms can become not just places of justice, but also spaces of learning for an engaged and informed public. Ethan Tan More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Indian Express
Singaporean charged for making hoax bomb threat on board airport at Changi Airport
A Singaporean man was on Thursday charged at the State Courts with making a hoax bomb threat while on board an aircraft that was preparing to leave Changi Airport. Azim Shah Abubakar Shah, 22, allegedly said 'no one here knows I'm going to blow the plane up' in a post on Instagram stories after he boarded the Etihad Airways aircraft at about 6.55 pm on February 14, Channel News Asia said. He allegedly posted the threat on his Instagram account under the username 'fruitloops_19'. The story was viewable to 16 people, according to the charge sheet. The prosecution offered to reduce his charge to one under the Protection From Harassment Act for causing harassment, alarm or distress, however, he did not indicate a plea. He will appear in court on July 3, said the report. If convicted, Azim could be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to SGD 50,000 (USD 39,000), or both, according to the report.
