South-East Asia (Page 982)

SINGAPORE: A taxi driver accused of molesting a 17-year-old girl after offering her a free ride was convicted on Monday (Oct 30) of three counts of molestation.

Ler Chun Poh, 43, molested the victim three times while helping her to put on or remove her seatbelt, assistance she had not asked for.

The judge convicted him, saying he accepted the victim’s testimony and found that the prosecution had proven its case.

He rejected Ler’s submissions of bare denial, finding him an “untruthful, evasive and uncooperative witness”.

The court heard that Ler, who is also known as Lu Junbao, came across the victim alone before 11.40pm on Oct 29, 2021.

She was at a bus stop in front of a car park near Block 486, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5.

The teenager was looking for a BlueSG rental car driven earlier that night by her boyfriend because she thought she had left her phone inside.

Ler spotted the victim and stopped his taxi. He spoke to her and offered her a free ride, even though he knew that she did not have money to pay him.

At the time, the victim was feeling very worried as she had tried to look for her phone to no avail. She had not made any gestures to flag the taxi, but when he insisted on giving her a ride, she boarded the cab.

She sat in the front passenger seat, which was her usual practice when taking a taxi with her family.

She asked Ler for his mobile number, as she wanted to ask her mother to transfer him money for the trip, but he declined.

The victim testified at trial that a sound went off signalling that she had not put on her seatbelt.

She started to do so, when Ler reached out his hand to help her. According to the victim, Ler’s hand brushed her chest area with pressure that was “not light”.

He had not given her any warning that he was going to hold onto her seatbelt or that he was going to reach towards her, she said.

She felt shocked at the contact but did not say anything.

When they got to a nearby car park, the girl alighted and went to look for the BlueSG cars which were parked there. Ler remained in his cab, waiting.

She was unable to find the phone and returned to the taxi, where Ler offered to take her home.

The girl said she declined, but he insisted on dropping her off somewhere nearby. There was no one else around, she said.

Eventually, she returned to the taxi, but did not feel good. She said she was in an “unstable state of mind” where all she could think of was to find her phone.

She began putting on her seatbelt, even though there was no reminder this time, and Let again reached out his hand.

He molested her again while buckling the belt without any warning.

The girl felt shocked again. When they got to her location, the victim began unbuckling her seatbelt, and Ler reached out and molested her again while “helping” her unbuckle the seatbelt.

The victim quickly alighted and thanked Ler for the ride before approaching a group of strangers to borrow a phone.

She contacted her boyfriend and went to another set of parking lots for BlueSG cars to wait for him.

She later called the police and told her boyfriend that she had been molested by the taxi driver.

LER’S SELF-DEFENCE

Ler denied the charges. He claimed that the victim had boarded his taxi of her own accord, and said it was more likely that it was “incidental” and not intentional.

When he cross-examined the victim, he asked: “Don’t you think that regards to the molestation, you are creating good chance?”

He also asked her if she felt “molestation” occurs “with interest”: “In order to, you know, go to you and molest, the person must have some feeling, right, for you?”

He also asked the victim: “Why you never do anything to prevent … you getting (molested), you getting touched.”

District Judge Soh Tze Bian said he “totally rejected” Ler’s testimony at trial.

He will return to court for mitigation and sentencing next month.

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Among the top suggestions were for more food options, a better layout of the stalls and seats, as well as optimising both levels of the premises. The eatery previously occupied only the second floor.

There are now 39 stalls selling cooked food, up from 34 previously, while the number of seats has increased by more than 100 to almost 600.

Escalators and staircases were relocated from the front of the building, to free up space on the ground floor.

Parts of the carpark and loading bay on the first storey were also removed or relocated to make space for the stalls and dining area. However, this has reduced the number of parking lots on the premises.

Aside from giving diners more choices and space to enjoy their meals, the move has also improved the visibility of the hawker centre, making it more convenient for customers, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Mr Lee, who visited the hawker centre during a soft launch last month, said in a Facebook post that food choices include wanton mee, nasi padang, economy rice, prawn noodle, prata, pizza, minjiang kueh, grilled fish and bubble tea.

The centre has a mix of veteran food sellers and rookies. The latter are supported by the NEA’s Incubation Stall Programme (ISP), which provides subsidised rental rates for 15 months, stalls pre-fitted with basic equipment to lower upfront costs of setting up, as well as initiatives for vendors to learn the ropes of being a hawker.

CENTRALISED PROCUREMENT

For the stallowners, the new management is also offering options such as a centralised procurement system to make it easier to stock their kitchens.

First-time hawker Noor Aisha Mohamed Ibrahim, who runs the Al Nadhira Indian Muslim Food stall, is among seven vendors involved in such an arrangement to re-supply ingredients and equipment.

“When we have missing bowls, or anything that we need urgently, we don’t need to find them (ourselves). We just message (those managing the network) in the group chat. They are very immediate in their service, and then they will just help us solve the issues very fast,” she said.

Mr Erik Wang, CEO of Chang Cheng Mee Wah Food Industries, the operator’s parent company, said centralised procurement also helps stallowners save on costs, which he hopes can translate into more affordable food for consumers.

“We know that raw material is one of the largest cost components for the hawkers,” he said. “So if they are able to get cheaper and more convenient sources of inputs, they will be able to sustain their business longer. And hopefully, they can also share that benefit – the lower costs – with the consumers.”

Mr Lee said the centralised system is one way operators can support both stallholders and residents.

“These are ways in which commercial operators add value, help to improve competitiveness and choice, and in return, also provide greater affordability for residents. These are ideas that we need to study more carefully, to see whether there can be a wider application,” he said.

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THE INCIDENT

At about 2.50am on Sunday, two traffic police officers, aged 32 and 29, were on patrol along Victoria Street when they spotted a speeding car.

The officers signalled for the driver to pull over but he stopped along the second lane of the road instead, the police said.

When asked for his NRIC and driving licence, the man only produced the former, they added.

The officers then directed the driver to move his car to the side of the road for further checks. The man complied and stopped his car near the junction of North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan.

“He then dashed out of his car suddenly and fled on foot with his belongings that exposed a black object resembling the handle of a weapon,” said the police.

The officers gave chase and stopped the man at a back alley near Jalan Klapa, where he dropped his belongings along with a samurai sword.

The man then allegedly took out a stun device and used it to tase the officers repeatedly, the police said.

“Despite their injuries caused by the stun device, the officers were able to subdue and arrest the man with the help of a passer-by,” the police said. The passer-by was a 22-year-old full-time national serviceman from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, who was off-duty at that time, they added.

The 32-year-old officer, Staff Sergeant Khairulanwar Bin Abd Kahar, suffered back injuries and was taken to the hospital. He has since been discharged with medical leave, the police said.

The other officer, Sergeant (Sgt) Muhammad Afiq Yahya, suffered injuries to his left hand and leg.

Recounting the incident on Monday, Sgt Afiq said: “It was important for us to arrest him as soon as possible as he may injure members of the public.”

After being attacked with the stun device, the officer said it felt “tingling” as though there was an electric shock flowing through him. 

“At that point of time, the pain was bearable because I think I was just in the moment,” he added.

The Central Police Division on Monday presented the public spiritedness award to the 22-year-old NSF, Private (PTE) Mohammed Akbar Madarsa Mohamed Sultan, for his “courage and public spiritedness” in assisting the traffic police officers in their arrest of the accused.

On Monday, PTE Akbar said he felt a “strong sense of duty to help” when he saw the police officers handling the “aggressive suspect”.

“Upon noticing me, the officers called out to me, so I quickly stepped forward to help the police restrain the suspect. 

“As an NSF in SCDF, I am part of the Home Team and I am glad I was able to render help to my fellow Home Team colleagues.”

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SINGAPORE: A 38-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly attacking and injuring two traffic police officers with a stun device – a prohibited item in Singapore.

Other weapons – a samurai sword, two knuckle dusters, a chopper and a dagger – as well as various drug paraphernalia and controlled drugs – 236g of Ice, 11g of heroin, 56 Erimin-5 tablets and two Ecstasy tablets – were seized from the man, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a news release on Monday (Oct 30). 

The man will be charged on Monday for various offences including voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, possession of offensive and scheduled weapon, drug trafficking and driving under the influence of drugs.

THE INCIDENT

At about 2.50am on Sunday, two traffic police officers, aged 32 and 29, were on patrol along Victoria Street when they spotted a speeding car.

The officers signalled for the male driver to pull over but he stopped along the second lane of the road instead, the police said.

When asked for his NRIC and driving licence, the man only produced the former, they added.

The officers then directed the driver to move his car to the side of the road for further checks. The man complied and stopped his car near the junction of North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan.

“He then dashed out of his car suddenly and fled on foot with his belongings that exposed a black object resembling the handle of a weapon,” said the police.

The officers gave chase and stopped the man at a back alley near Jalan Klapa, where he dropped his belongings along with a samurai sword.

The man then allegedly took out a stun device and used it to tase the officers repeatedly, the police said.

“Despite their injuries caused by the stun device, the officers were able to subdue and arrest the man with the help of a passer-by,” the police said. The passer-by was a 22-year-old full-time national serviceman from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, who was off-duty at that time, they added.

The 32-year-old officer suffered back injuries and was taken to the hospital. He has since been discharged with medical leave, the police said.

The other officer suffered injuries to his left hand and leg.

The Central Police Division presented the public spiritedness award to the 22-year-old NSF, Private Mohammed Akbar Madarsa Mohamed Sultan, for his “courage and public spiritedness” in assisting the traffic police officers in their arrest of the accused.

“The arrested man showed a blatant disregard for the law by attacking and injuring the police officers who were performing their duties,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Jeremy Ang, who is also commander of the Central Police Division.

“I would like to commend the bravery of the police officers and the off-duty (SCDF) officer who acted with courage when confronting a man armed with a weapon and worked bravely together to subdue and arrest him.”

In the news release on Monday, SPF said: “The police have zero tolerance for such brazen acts of violence against police officers and will not hesitate to take firm action against those who blatantly disregard the law.”

The police also reminded members of the public that it is an offence to carry an offensive or scheduled weapon in a public place. 

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Trendy desserts are offered at the cafe too, such as croffles, drizzled with your choice of gula melaka or chocolate sauce. Customers can top up for a school of coconut ice cream.

You can also get the coconut ice cream on its own, with topping choices like Mao Shan Wang pulp, mango cubes, sweet potato balls and Earl Grey jelly.

For drinks, expect Mr Coconut’s signatures such as coconut shakes, coconut fresh juice and bubble coconut.

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