Man to be charged with trespassing and defiling statue in Hougang church
The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hougang. (Photo: Ili Nadhirah Mansor/TODAY)
SINGAPORE: A 37-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a case of criminal trespass and defiling a statue in a church, said the police on Friday (Nov 20).
The police received a report on Nov 12 at about 10.50am that a statue in the courtyard of a church along Upper Serangoon Road was defaced.
In response to CNA queries, the police confirmed that the church in question was the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hougang.
The church said last week that a statue of Mary in its courtyard had been found defaced.
Through ground investigations and images from closed-circuit television cameras, officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on Wednesday.
The man will be charged in court on Friday with criminal trespass and defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class under the Penal Code.
If found guilty of criminal trespass, he may be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500 or both. If found guilty of defiling a place of worship with the intent to insult the religion, he may be jailed for up to five years, fined or both.
The police will seek a court order to remand the man at the Institute of Mental Health.
"The police do not condone acts that insult the religious harmony at the places of worship of any class in Singapore and perpetrators will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law," it said.
