Public Prosecutor v Tan Kuan Gek

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Lee-Khoo Poh Choo
• Judgment Date: 15 September 2011
• Neutral Citation: [2011] SGDC 292
• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: DAC 61389/2010 and Others
• Published date: 06 September 2011
• Year: 2011
• Hearing Date: 25 May 2011,26 July 2011,04 July 2011,22 June 2011
• Plaintiff Counsel: DPP Miss Lydia Goh
• Defendant Counsel: Mr Zaminder Gill of M/S Hilborne & Co
• Citation: [2011] SGDC 292

District Judge Lee Poh Choo: The charges and the appeal

This Judgement arose from appeal against sentence by the accused.

The accused pleaded guilty to the following 3 charges: DAC 61389/2010 – that on 13.5.2010, at about 4 pm, at the Harbourfront MRT station, the accused voluntarily caused hurt to one George Lim Kwee Tong by scratching him and caused 2 scratch marks over his right upper back, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 323 of the Penal Code, Cap 224; DAC 61391/2010 – that on 13.5.2010 at about 4.40 pm, at the platform level of the Harbourfront MRT station, the accused used criminal force against Sgt Lee Ming Jie, by pushing him with intent to deter him from discharging his duty, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 353 of the Penal Code, Cap 224; and DAC 61392/2010 – that on 13.5.2010, at about 4.40 pm, at the platform level of the Harbourfront MRT station, the accused used criminal force against Special Constabulary Terence Lim by using his hand to swing at and pushed the said police officer to the ground, with intent to deter him from discharging his duty, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 353 of the Penal Code, Cap 224. The accused also consented to 3 other charges being taken into consideration for purposes of sentencing. These were:

DAC 61390/2010 – on 13.5.2010 at about 3.50 pm, at the Harbourfront MRT station, the accused used criminal force on Anni, a 23 years old female, by pulling her hair hard, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 352 of the Penal Code Cap 224.

DAC 61893/2010 & DAC 61894/2010 - on 13.5.2010, at about 4.40 pm, at the Harboutfront MRT station, used abusive words against Sergeant Lee Ming Jie and Special Constabulary Terence Lim, thereby committing offences under section 13D(1)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, Cap 184.

I sentenced the accused to serve a total of 6 months’ imprisonment. The accused has appealed against sentence and is presently on bail. Circumstances of the offences

The accused admitted to the Statement of Facts without qualification. The facts are as follows:

Facts Pertaining to DAC 61389/2010

The victim George Lee Kwee Tong (“George”) was a security officer at the Harbourfront MRT station. On 13.5.2010, a commuter informed him that the accused was disturbing a female commuter named Anni at the ticketing office. George went to the ticketing office and saw the accused pull Anni by her hair towards a corner. George intervened and managed to pull the accused away from Anni. However, the accused turned violent and a scuffle broke out between the accused and George. The accused used his hand to pull George’s collar and in the process caused George to sustain 2 scratch marks on his right upper back.

Facts Pertaining to DAC61391/2010 and DAC 61392/2010

The victims were Sgt Lee Ming Jie (“Sgt Lee”), 24 years old, and SC Terence Lim Meng Yeow (“SC Terence”), 20 years old. Both were police officers attached to the Public Transport Security Command.

On 13.5.2010, at about 4.40 pm. Sgt Lee, SC Terence and SC James Yeo were despatched to attend to a message that there was a fight at Harbourfront MRT station. On arrival, they saw the accused lying on the floor at the MRT platform. They noticed that the accused smelled of alcohol and was sleeping. They woke the accused up and assisted him to a sitting position. They identified themselves as police officers and proceeded to question the accused. The accused did not respond but stared at Sgt Lee and SC Terence. Then the accused started to hurl vulgarities at them. The police officers tried to calm down the accused but to no avail. Suddenly the accused turned aggressive and used his hand to push Sgt Lee away. The accused also swung his hand at SC Terence and pushed him to the ground.

Antecedents

The accused had the following similar antecedents:

Offence	Sentence
2.8.1996	- Fined $1,000 for voluntarily causing hurt under sec 323 of Penal Code
29.10.2004	- 3 weeks’ imprisonment for mischief and causing damage under sec 427 of Penal Code. - 3 weeks’ imprisonment for voluntarily causing hurt under sec 323 of Penal Code. Another count of using threatening/indecent/abusive/insulting words/behaviour to public servant under sec 13D Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order & Nuisance) Act, Cap 184 was taken into consideration.
4.8.2009	- 3 months’ imprisonment for voluntarily causing hurt under sec 323 of Penal Code.

He had other convictions for extortion, fraudulent possession of property, taking/driving vehicle without lawful authority,...