Man who had stand-off with police near Woodlands Checkpoint pleads guilty to armed robbery and other offences

SINGAPORE: A man shown in viral videos in a stand-off with police near Woodlands Checkpoint last year pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Aug 28) to a variety of charges including armed robbery, drug-related offences and traffic violations.

Chew Guan Mong, a 45-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty to 16 charges including robbing a woman of her car, taking methamphetamine and vandalism. Another 25 charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

The incident that resulted in the stand-off started on the afternoon of Jan 5, 2018, when Chew was driving along the Pan Island Expressway towards Tuas.

He had earlier been banned from driving from August 2004 to August 2034, but drove a rented black Toyota Camry in a zig-zag pattern anyway.

Near the exit to Clementi Road, he swerved onto the path of an SMRT bus, side-swiping it, before veering to the left and bouncing off the wall, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong.

After colliding into the centre guard railings and a wall near the road shoulder, Chew abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, the court heard.

HE RAN DOWN SLIP ROAD, ROBBED WOMAN OF HER CAR

Chew then ran across the centre divider of the expressway in the opposite direction, before going down the slope of a slip road merging into Upper Bukit Timah Road.

He held a bag containing a sickle, a long rusty knife and a bottle of kerosene.

As he neared the end of the slip road, Chew went to a red Mazda 6 driven by a 40-year-old woman, which had stopped due to heavy traffic.

Chew opened the driver's door, brandished the sickle at the victim and shouted at her to leave.

Fearing for her safety, the woman alighted and Chew drove off in the direction of Bukit Timah Expressway.

He arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint but entered the motorcycle lane by mistake and was eventually stuck in the lane due to the narrowing road, said the prosecutor.

"In his desperation to escape, he intentionally crashed through a traffic control barrier, which is public property belonging to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), causing damages amounting to S$6,516.30," said the prosecution.

The stolen car was so damaged from the repeated collisions that it could no longer be driven.

BRANDISHED SICKLE AT OFFICERS

When the police, ICA officers and AETOS auxiliary officers approached the vehicle, Chew alighted with the sickle in his hands, brandishing it at the officers and warning them not to approach him.

He was eventually subdued and arrested. A packet containing methamphetamine was found in his possession.

Apart from the offences leading up to the stand-off, Chew admitted to his involvement in various other crimes including three separate loan shark harassment incidents, possessing a knuckle-duster and a flick knife, and consuming meth.

Chew, who is represented by lawyer Josephus Tan, was also involved in the handling of S$80,000 which was ransom for a kidnapping orchestrated by criminals in Malaysia. 

District Judge Ng Peng Hong called for a preventive detention report to be prepared and adjourned sentencing to Sep 17.