SINGAPORE: A passenger who had been testing train windows for about two months and was experiencing a recurrence of depressive illness was in trouble with the law after being caught on camera pulling open the doors.
This was made public in court on Friday, January 5, as part of Vanessa Wang Zi Qi’s innocent plea of not guilty.
Wang admitted guilt to three counts of common problem, one count of intentionally hurting a train employee, and one charge. A fourth charge was also taken into account.
Wang was given a gender dysphoria and bipolar disorder diagnosis in 2019, but for two years he skipped treatment and follow-ups, according to the jury.
He went back to the Institute of Mental Health ( IMH) in January 2021 to receive a stress diagnosis and an adjustment disorder diagnosis, but he defaulted once more.
Wang’s Bipolar II problem, which was characterized by an increased and irritable mood, increased energy, a decreased need for sleep, and abnormal involvement in activities that could have painful repercussions, was hypomanic at the time of his public nuisance offenses.
At the time, Wang also had borderline personality disorder, which was characterized by changes in his sense of self and self-worth, fears of being abandoned, a pattern of short-lived, unsteady relationships, persistent feelings of loneliness, and trouble controlling his temper.
OFFENSES
Wang boarded a station on the North-South Line on November 29 of last year. Between Khatib and Yio Chu Kang, at around 12.50 p.m., he started yanking on the train’s windows to see if they could get opened while it was moving.
Another riders asked him to quit after he was successful in forcing a difference between the doors. Wang was approached by a passenger who requested that he waited until the next stop.
Wang kept pulling on the doors to keep them from closing when the coach arrived at Yio Chu Kang MRT Station.
Top stop manager Mr. Foo Jee Yong, 65, was asked to check on the teach with his colleagues after an unnamed commuter pressed the emergency button.
The travellers informed the SMRT staff that Wang had been pounding on the doors when they arrived.
Wang refused Mr. Foo’s request to observe him out of the train and started yelling at the SMRT workers not to touch him.
As the coach continued to travel in the direction of Ang Mo Kio, the SMRT personnel remained on board with Wang.
Wang kept swinging his elbows to prevent the station staff and repeatedly kicked Mr. Foo in the calf, leaving him sore.
Wang was kicked ferociously and yelled at the next place, where he was removed with the assistance of more train staff. Wang finally collapsed onto the platform and remained motionless, calling the Singapore Civil Defence Force to report his severe injuries and need for help.
Wang claimed that on November 27, 2023, he had likewise pounded on the gates at Braddell MRT Station.
He claimed that for about two weeks starting in the middle of November, he had been testing MRT doors along several train lines by pulling them opened. However, it was difficult for him to recall how many occasions this had happened.
A hypomanic feelings state may have hampered Wang’s judgment and impulse control, and an IMH report claimed that his Bipolar II Disorder had played a role in his offenses.
He was no mentally ill at the time of the offenses, though, and he is qualified to enter a plea in court.
According to the IMH report, Wang would gain from ongoing outpatient medical care, including medication and psychotherapy.
According to the report, if he follows care instructions, both his risk of offending people and himself would be greatly decreased.
Wang, who is remanded at IMH and is wearing a bright sweater, appeared in court via video-link.  ,
DPP REQUESTS A MTO REPORT
The jury was asked to request a compulsory treatment get suitability report by Deputy Public Prosecutor Yvonne Poon.
An order by the court for an offender to receive psychiatric treatment is referred to as a mandatory treatment order ( MTO ).
Wang has been on remand for 30 days, according to Ms. Poon, and an MTO document would be “most ideal given the circumstances.”
This was Wang’s second appearance in court or violation of the law, according to defense attorney Kalaithasan Karuppaya of Regent Law, who also requested an MTO report.
According to the attorney, Wang cooperated with the authorities, provided knowledge, and was honest.
Mr. Kalaithasan stated in his written prevention argument that Wang has been unemployed since 2021.
He has a structural engineering certification and has worked as an air force technician before joining the national service.
Wang wrote the attorney that he had been married for 11 times before divorcing his wife in 2017. Wang presently resides only and is estranged from both his older brother and father. In 2014, his mother passed away.
Wang has reportedly made several trips to the IMH emergency room, mostly for “acute contextual responses to mental stressors,” according to Mr. Kalaithasan.
According to the attorney, Wang is now receiving hormonal treatments for gender transition.
” He needs assistance, your honor,” Mr. Kalaithasan said.
Both parties were represented by the judge, who also requested an MTO eligibility report. He scheduled the punishment for January 17 in the hopes that it could be finished earlier, which is typically two months.