Straits Times, Singapore, 6 April 2006

Jail, cane for blinding chef in left eye

By Elena Chong

A MAN who punched an assistant chef in the face, blinding himin his left eye, was yesterday sentenced to two years' jail andseven strokes of the cane.

Salesman Toh Seng Tian, 42, admitted to grievously hurting MrOng Tun Chao, 38, by punching him at Asakusa Japanese restaurantin Bukit Timah Road on Oct 18 last year.

Mr Ong was an assistant chef at the restaurant where Toh andhis friends went for food and drinks.

At about 4.15am, Mr Ong - who was off-duty and drunk - wantedto have a toast with Toh and his friends. When they turned himdown, Mr Ong abused them verbally. He then took a glass of sakeand gulped it down.

As he was putting the glass on the table, Toh suddenly punchedhim around his left eye. Toh then snatched a bottle but before hecould do anything, Mr Ong's friends stopped him.

Mr Ong had a deep cut above his left eye and was treated atSingapore General Hospital.

His left eye was also badly damaged and subsequently removedand an implant inserted.

Toh's lawyer, Mr Lim Swee Tee, said Mr Ong was drunk andboisterous. The lawyer said one of his client's friends had eventold the chef to tell Mr Ong to stop creating trouble.

Toh, who also had too much to drink, punched the victim buthad not expected the injury to be so serious, said his lawyer.

Mr Ong, who is represented by Mr Chen Chuen Tat, is mullingover whether to file a civil claim against Toh, who could havebeen jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned.

Straits Times, Singapore, 19 April 2006

32 years' jail for man who raped 5 daughters

Judge also orders maximum 24 strokes for 'sickening' rapist

By Selina Lum and K.C. Vijayan

(extract)

SHORTLY after a 'sickening' sexual predator was jailed 32years for raping his five teenage daughters, two of his wiveswalked up to him in the dock and took turns to kiss hisoutstretched hand.

The 45-year-old rapist, who subverted parts of the Quran tojustify raping his children, was also ordered yesterday to becaned the maximum 24 strokes.

Handing down the sentence, Justice Tay Yong Kwang castigatedthe man - whose multiple wives bore him scores of children - forthe 'systematic and sickening' rapes he carried out on his fleshand blood.

The judge also assured the rapist's eldest daughter that shehad done the right thing by reporting her father to the police.

The man cannot be named to protect the identity of hisdaughters. Two are in a girls' home while three have been placedunder statutory supervision in the custody of their mothers.

Yesterday, the man appeared relaxed when he was led into thedock but grew solemn when Justice Tay delivered his judgment.

However, he broke into a smile when he was allowed to speak totwo of his wives after he was sentenced. The women, dressed inheadscarves, were not in the court when sentence was passed. Theyentered soon after, approached their husband and kissed the handhe proffered through a slot in the dock's glass screen.

The court heard last week how, over an 18-month period, theman had repeatedly preyed on his daughters when they were between12 and 15 years old, with help from some of his wives.

While conducting a religious lesson, he convinced his wivesthat he had ownership over his children, which included havingsex with them. The wives became his messengers. When he wantedsex, they would tell the girls to keep their 'appointment' withtheir father in his bedroom.

Two later became pregnant and had to undergo abortions.

The incest continued until June last year, when the eldestgirl, now 16, went to the police. The father was arrested thenext day.

The prosecution brought 43 charges against the man, but notedthat the incidents were so numerous that the girls were'hard-pressed to keep count, much less remember the exactspecifics'.

A sixth daughter, aged 12, was the victim in two of theattempted aggravated rape charges and one outrage of modestycharge.

Justice Tay said the man's violation of his daughters was a'sad and shameful abuse' of his family's trust and respect inhim.

The judge stressed that the girls had nothing to be ashamed ofor feel bad about - the wrongdoing was on the part of theirfather.

'I also hope that the accused's wives and other childrenappreciate what the six girls in this case have gone through andgive them the love and support that they so richly deserve.'

[...]

Straits Times, Singapore, 25 April 2006

Hawker gets jail, caning for assaulting cabby

A HAWKER has been sentenced to 20 months' jail and six strokesof the cane for kicking and punching a taxi driver.

Alvin Koh Beng Huat, 45, admitted causing grievous hurt toMalaysian cabby Mr Goh Ping Yok, 45, with two of his friends onNov 18, last year.

The court heard that he went to Queen Street bus terminal atabout 11.50pm that day, intending to take a taxi home. He saw aComfort taxi behind a bus but the driver was not around.

When taxi driver Mr Sim Chye Huat, 68, came back, Koh told himhe wanted to take the taxi to Woodlands but was refused.

In his anger, Koh kicked the right rear passenger door of thetaxi. He tried to hit Mr Sim and threw a packet of fried noodlesat his taxi.

Mr Sim ran and spoke to Mr Goh and several others nearby. Kohsaw the taxi driver speaking to Mr Goh.

About 10 minutes later, two of Koh's friends arrived and thetrio rushed towards Mr Goh. They punched and kicked himrepeatedly on his face.

Koh, who has two other charges taken into consideration, hasprevious drug-related convictions.

Straits Times, Singapore, 28 April 2006

Preventive detention for repeat sex offender

By Selina Lum

A SEX offender who went back to his old ways barely a yearafter he was released from prison was yesterday sentenced to 12years' preventive detention.

Mohamad Norrahhi Noman, 30, who admitted he sexually abusedfour boys aged between 13 and 15, was also ordered to be canedthe maximum 24 strokes.

The general worker had befriended the teenagers by handing outfliers promising them a free mobile phone if they joined hissoccer team.

He then lured them to various monsoon drains in the westernpart of Singapore and made them perform sexual acts with him.

Norrahhi's criminal career began more than 10 years ago whenhe was jailed for nine months for mischief and theft in December1995.

In July 1998, he was jailed one year for theft.

While serving his sentence, he wasconvicted of sexualoffences against four 15-year-old boys in 1997.

Norrahhi, who had tricked them with false promises of jobswith his bogus company, was jailed for six years and caned fourstrokes.

He was released from prison in February 2004 but went back topreying on young boys in December that year.

The prosecution asked for Norrahhi to be given the maximum 20years' preventive detention, pointing out that his criminalactivities had escalated since 1995.

In the present case, he used bandages and cable ties torestrain the boys and threatened one of them with a pair ofscissors. He also forced them to hand over money, mobile phonesand digital cameras.

Repeat offenders can be sentenced to preventive detention ofbetween seven and 20 years, with no chance of an early release.