• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Netizens support woman sentenced to probation after shouting profanity at police for wrongly arresting her; prosecutor calls for harsher punishment

by Rubaashini Shunmuganathan
19/06/2019
in Court Cases, Current Affairs
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0

Photo Credit: Singapore Police Force/Facebook

Evonne Keak Yan Ting, a 24-yr-old female, was slammed with one year of supervised probation on Tuesday (18 June), after she pleaded guilty to two charges last month – using criminal force to stop a public servant from discharging their duty; and verbally abusing a public servant.

On 4 July 2018, three police officers who were patrolling around Hill Street spotted a couple on an e-scooter and wanted to stop them. But the duo escaped after noticing the officers, which prompted them to give the couple a chase on foot before losing sight of them.

In the same vicinity, one of the officers saw Keak and approached her, however, she continuously tried to move away.

Sergeant Siti Nurdiana Khairuddin held on to Keak, in an attempt to stop her from moving forward. It was claimed that Sergeant Siti’s action to restraint Keak was because she was trying to cross a road with oncoming traffic.

Retaliating to that, the 24-year-old pushed the female officer once on her chest.

Soon later, the officers found out that she was not one of the e-scooter riders that they were chasing but still arrested Keak anyway because she had pushed Sergeant Siti.

Keak also uttered vulgarities at them in the car after she was arrested.

In delivering his judgement, District Judge Tan Jen Tse also instructed her to do 80 hours of community service, and for her father to provide a S$5,000 bond to guarantee her good behaviour.

However, the merchandising specialist will not be serving her sentence immediately because Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lim Ying Min requested for a two-week stay of execution to appeal against the sentence.

DPP Lim is pushing for four weeks’ jail, mentioning that Keak has “sufficient maturity and therefore fully able to understand the consequences of her actions”.

The prosecutor continued, “This is not a case where the accused is below 21 years; she was 23 years old when she committed the offence… To impose probation is a slippery slope. The question is, where should the line be drawn? Do we give 22-year-, 23-year-, 24-year-olds probation?”

Generally, probation – which is a rehabilitative, community-based sentencing option – is given to those who are below 21 years old, but at times can be offered to older offenders as well.

However, her lawyer Josephus Tan defended her and said that “she deserved a chance at probation”, and the investigation officer mentioned that it was a one-off, out-of-character episode.

Tan also noted that his client moved away from the officers because she was looking to take a cab “after drinking alone”.

In sentencing Keak to probation, District Judge Tan said that the woman has the right to walk away when the officer wanted to check her, as “both the legal and factual basis” for the police to stop or arrest her was not presented in the accepted facts.

The judge also pointed out that it was “most unfortunate” that one of the officers told his fellow colleague to stop her from crossing the road because “there was no sense that she was in any imminent danger”.

“The police were not even trying to place her under arrest. The action of the push by the accused was precipitated by the officer holding her. And from a reading of harassment charges, her actions were directed at the officers’ acts of arresting her and less so at them personally,” the judge was quoted in TODAY.

Keak could have been sentenced with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 4 years, or with fine, or with both for the charge of criminal assault, and a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both for the charge of verbal abuse.

Upon reading this news, many questioned her sentenced to probation as they felt it was not her fault.

Writing in TODAY’s Facebook page, they said it was the police officers’ mistake for wrongly suspecting her to be one of the e-scooter riders. As such, they supported Keak and highlighted that she was not at wrong for walking away from the officers.

Others blamed the officers for their incompetency in handling this case. Since they wrongly stopped an innocent woman, many asked what is the punishment given to the officers for their mistake – like being demoted or sacked.

A bunch of Facebook users also questioned the need for DPP Lim to ask for a harsher sentence of 4 weeks’ jail term given that it was not really Keak’s mistake. They opined that the Judge’s sentenced to probation is “quite fair”.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with
Opinion

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

07/02/2023
Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth
Singapore

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

07/02/2023
国会内庆妇女节 女议员获赠鲜花
Labour

15 companies barred from hiring new foreign employees after serious safety lapse found at worksite

07/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?
AFP

India’s Adani Enterprises shares rocket 20%, trading suspended

07/02/2023
China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot
AFP

China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

07/02/2023
Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well
AFP

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

07/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

07/02/2023
Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

07/02/2023
国会内庆妇女节 女议员获赠鲜花

15 companies barred from hiring new foreign employees after serious safety lapse found at worksite

07/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

India’s Adani Enterprises shares rocket 20%, trading suspended

07/02/2023
China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

07/02/2023
Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

07/02/2023
Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

07/02/2023
Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

07/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
106

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
47

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
12

...

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
3

...

June 2019
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
« May   Jul »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz