Public Prosecutor v Low Chuan Woo

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Tay Yong Kwang J
• Judgment Date: 25 June 2014
• Neutral Citation: [2014] SGHC 118
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: Criminal Case No 21 of 2014
• Published date: 10 July 2014
• Year: 2014
• Hearing Date: 23 May 2014
• Plaintiff Counsel: Anamika Bagchi and Shahla Iqbal, DPPs,
• Defendant Counsel: Ram Goswami (Ram Goswami) and Cheng Kim Kuan (K.K. Cheng & Co)
• Subject Matter: Criminal Law,Offences,Culpable Homicide,Sentencing
• Citation: [2014] SGHC 118

Tay Yong Kwang J: The Charges

The accused, who was born on 6 Dec 1968, pleaded guilty to the following Charges:

“1ST CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you on the 14th day of January 2013 between 11.00 pm and 11.59 pm, at the ground floor of Blk 5 Changi Village Road, Singapore, did cause the death of one Mohamed Iskandar Bin Ishak, (male/45 years old), by stabbing him with a knife, which act was done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and you have thereby committed an offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder punishable under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

3RD CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you, between the 15th day of November 2012 and the 30th day of November 2012, in Singapore, did knowingly live in part on the earnings of the prostitution of one [redacted], female Filipino/ 25 years old, Philippine Passport No: [redacted], and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 146(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.

6TH CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you, sometime between the end of November 2012 and the 28th day of December 2012, in Singapore, did knowingly live in part on the earnings of the prostitution of one [redacted], female Filipino/ 29 years old, Philippine Passport No: [redacted], and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 146(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.

8TH CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you, between the month of October 2012 and 31st day of December 2012, at Blk 5, Changi Village Road #01-2015, ‘Ramesses Entertainment’, Singapore, did manage a place of assignation and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 147(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.”

The accused admitted the following Charges and gave his consent for them to be taken into consideration for the purpose of sentence:

“2ND CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you, between October 2012 and December 2012, in Singapore, did knowingly live in part on the earnings of the prostitution of one [redacted], female Filipino/ 20 years old, Philippine Passport No: [redacted], and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 146(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.

4TH CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you, sometime between the end of October 2012 and the 25th day of December 2012, in Singapore, did knowingly live in part on the earnings of the prostitution of one [redacted], female Filipino/ 25 years old, Philippine Passport No: [redacted], and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 146(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.

5TH CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you, sometime in November 2012, in Singapore, did knowingly live in part on the earnings of the prostitution of one [redacted],female Filipino/ 26 years old, Philippine Passport No: [redacted], and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 146(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.

7TH CHARGE (AMENDED)

are charged that you, sometime at the end of December 2012, in Singapore, did knowingly live in part on the earnings of the prostitution of one [redacted],female Filipino/ 27 years old, Philippine Passport No: [redacted], and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 146(1) of the Women's Charter, Chapter 353.”

The Statement of Facts (“SOF”)

The SOF below sets out the circumstances leading to the offence. The accused admitted all the facts in the SOF without qualification. The SOF reads:

“Facts Relating to the 1st Charge

Introduction 1. The accused is one Low Chuan Woo (also known as Richard), a 45 year old Singaporean male bearing NRIC no: [redacted], residing at Blk 484 Pasir Ris Drive 4 #07-369. He is the owner and operator of Ramesses Entertainment, a pub located at Blk 5 Changi Village Road #01-2015. 2. The victim/deceased is one Mohamed Iskandar Bin Ishak, a 45 year old Singaporean male bearing NRIC no: [redacted], residing at Blk 701 Pasir Ris Drive 10 #11-113. At the time of the offence, he was working part-time with a company known as “Usatech (S) Pte Ltd” based in Loyang Offshore. First Information Report 3. On 14 January 2013, at about 11.38 p.m. a female caller known as “Ms Jayanthi” called the police and reported: “There are many people fighting with rods”. The location of the incident was given as “Changi Village Road, Carpark behind first coffeeshop”. 4. Upon arrival of police resources at the scene, the Accused approached the police and informed them that there had been an altercation at the Ramesses pub between himself and a patron of the pub (the Deceased). The deceased and his friends were no longer at the scene. Facts relating to the charge 5. On 14 January 2013 at about 6.00 pm, the deceased together with his nephew (“Muhamad Subir”) and his brother-in-law (“Abdullah Bin Ismail”) visited Changi Village for drinks. They decided to patronise Ramesses pub (for the first time) and had some beer and a bottle of whiskey. 6. As the deceased and his group were finishing the bottle of whiskey, a few Filipino women approached them at the table. These women were “performing artistes” employed by Ramesses pub. The Deceased and his group bought ladies’ drinks for the women and a second bottle of Chivas Regal for themselves. 7. At around 11.30pm, the deceased (who had become intoxicated after drinking) became agitated when one of the Filipino performing artistes known as [redacted] (also known as Iris/Ariz) refused to drink a tequila shot that he had bought for her. The Deceased demanded to see the owner of the pub and started shouting “Boss! Boss!” The Accused (who was then seated outside the pub) heard the Deceased shouting and went into the pub to pacify him. However, the Deceased remained agitated and was shouting vulgarities at the accused. When he saw Ariz standing next to the Accused, he proceeded to splash a shot of tequila onto her face, causing the said Ariz to cry. 8. The accused tried reasoning out with the deceased but the deceased then grabbed hold of the Accused’s neck and pulled him out of the pub through the rear door. A quarrel ensued and the deceased and accused ended up across the carpark, where the Deceased was seen grabbing the accused’s shirt and neck. 9. The bartender of Ramesses pub, one Muhammad Nasrul Bin Mohammad Nahadi (“Nasrul”), and the deceased’s brother-in-law, both went outside and tried to calm the deceased down. However, the deceased continued to be aggressive and punched Nasrul in his left eye. Nasrul was then pulled away by the deceased’s brother in law. 10. The deceased also tried to push the Accused’s head against the iron gate. The accused then managed to break free and ran back into the pub through the rear door. The accused retrieved a knife from the bar counter, and ran out the rear door again to confront the deceased using the knife. 11. In the ensuing fight, the accused stabbed the deceased twice. The deceased sustained a stab wound on his right upper arm and another stab wound at the back of his chest. Immediately after stabbing the deceased, the accused returned to the pub to place the knife in the sink. The Accused then grabbed a billiard cue and returned to the scene of the fight again. 12. By this time, the deceased was injured and bleeding profusely. The deceased’s brother in law used his belt to tie a tourniquet around his arm to prevent further blood loss. The deceased’s brother in law then told the deceased to stay put while he went to look for the deceased’s nephew. 13. In the mean time, the deceased made his way towards the roadside and flagged down a taxi. He told the taxi driver to take him to the hospital. The deceased was subsequently pronounced dead at Changi General Hospital at 12.17 am on 15th January 2013.

Reports relating to the Deceased Medical Report on Deceased [Tab A]

14. The deceased was seen by Dr. Ang Shiang –Hu at the Accident & Emergency Department of Changi General Hospital on 15 January 2013. 15. On arrival, he was “pulseless and apneic”. Resuscitation efforts proved futile and he was pronounced dead at 0017 hrs. The likely cause of death was stated to be “exsanguinations due to penetrating trauma to patient’s back”. 16. The following was noted during the post-resuscitation exam: - No visible head or face trauma. - 2cm stab wound to right shoulder (right deltoid muscle). - 2cm stab wound to the back near the midline, mid thoracic spinal region, unable to reach full depth with finger exploration.

Autopsy report on Deceased [Tab B]

17. The autopsy was performed by A/Prof Gilbert Lau on 15 January 2013 at 0945 hrs. 18. The autopsy report states that the Deceased suffered 2 stab wounds – one to the back of the chest and one to the deltoid region of the right arm. Both are approximately 11-12cm in depth. 19. The substantive cause of death is stated to be “STAB WOUND TO THE BACK OF THE CHEST”. A/Prof Lau is of the view that death was primarily due to a stab wound to the back of the chest that had penetrated the lower lobe of the right lung, resulting in acute haemorrhage. 20. The features of both stab wounds are consistent with their being inflicted by a sharp object, such as a single-edged knife. 21. The contributory cause of death is “SEVERE CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS”. A/Prof Lau is of the view that it is likely that the Deceased’s underlying heart disease would have contributed to his death.

Toxicology report [Tab C]

22. The toxicology report dated 30th January 2013 confirms that the Deceased was heavily intoxicated at the time of his death, with 118mg of ethanol detected per 100ml of blood.

Reports relating to the Accused Medical report on Accused [Tab D] ...