Lee Swee Yang v Public Prosecutor

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: S Rajendran J
• Judgment Date: 28 August 1991
• Neutral Citation: [1991] SGHC 117
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Published date: 17 September 2012
• Year: 1991
• Plaintiff Counsel: S Radakrishnan (Bernard Rada & Lee)
• Defendant Counsel: Jennifer Marie (DPP)
• Citation: [1991] SGHC 117

Judgment:

Coram: S Rajendran, J.

GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT

On 21.5.91 the Appellant was charged as follows in the District Court:-

You, Lee Swee Yang, m/26 years, NRIC No. 0004248 (FOM)

are charged that you, on the 20th May 1991 at about 6.45 am, did bring one Lamduan Panyachai, Thai Passport No. A 158381 into Singapore knowing that the said Lamduan Panyachai had been procured for the purpose of prostitution within Singapore and with the intent to aid such purpose, and you have thereby committed an offence under Section 140(1)(d) and punishable under Section 140(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.

The Appellant, who was unrepresented, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a term of 3 months imprisonment. He now appeals against the sentence imposed.

The facts admitted to by the Appellant were that on 20.5.91 he was approached by a member of a vice syndicate in Johore Bahru to bring a female Thai, Lamduan Panyachai, into Singapore for the purpose of prostitution. The Appellant was to be paid Malaysian $60 if he succeeded in obtaining a Social Visit Pass at the Immigration booth along the Woodlands Checkpoint. If the Appellant was required to vouch for the female Thai before a Social Visit Pass was obtained, he would be paid Malaysian $100. The Appellant and the said Thai female were arrested by a police party from the Anti-Vice Enforcement Unit, CID, at the Woodlands Checkpoint, Singapore.

It appears from the trial record that upon the Appellant being convicted for the offence the Prosecutor urged the District Judge to impose a deterrent custodial sentence on the grounds that the Appellant was working for a syndicate which was bringing Thai prostitutes into Singapore. The Prosecutor also told the District Judge that a number of these prostitutes had been found to be infected with Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome (AIDS) and that the Appellant's acts would be dangerous to Singapore.

The learned District Judge was obviously influenced by this submission. In his grounds of decision he stated:-

" The prosecution however, pressed for a custodial sentence as the Accused was working for a syndicate which is bringing Thai prostitutes into Singapore. A number of these prostitutes have been found to be infected with AIDS (Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome). The offence committed by the Accused would therefore be a danger to Singapore.

It is clear that AIDS (Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome) is fatal and if left unchecked, it could spread in no time. In...