Jail for woman who took chopper to 'scare' boyfriend, took meth and bit police when woken up

SINGAPORE: A woman who wielded a chopper to scare her boyfriend after an argument was later found to have consumed drugs. 

When she was placed in a cell, she called an auxiliary police officer a "dog" after the officer woke her up. She refused to cooperate with the officer and later bit two other officers as they tried to restrain her.

Gladys Li Wen Jing, 27, was sentenced on Thursday (Feb 17) to three years and 11 months' jail. She pleaded guilty to four charges including drug consumption, voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty and carrying an offensive weapon in public. 

Another six charges were considered in sentencing.

The court heard that Li took a chopper from her flat in Henderson Crescent on the evening of Sep 19, 2020 and headed downstairs.

She wanted to find her boyfriend to "scare him with the chopper", as she had bumped into him earlier and they had been arguing.

A resident of the block saw Li alone in the car park area, holding a chopper. Feeling worried, the resident called the police.

When police officers headed down, Li spotted them and discarded the chopper so they would not see it. However, she was arrested and the 30cm-long chopper was recovered.

Li was arrested again on Nov 2, 2020. Her urine samples were found to contain methamphetamine, and she admitted taking the drug sometime before that date. She was previously admitted to a drug rehabilitation centre in January 2014, and was liable for enhanced punishment.

On Mar 16, 2021, Li was arrested for affray. She had been fighting her boyfriend with a bamboo pole along a corridor in a block of flats in Ang Mo Kio.

She was escorted to the regional lock-up at Woodlands Division and placed in a cell. Later that night, she began shouting and kicking the door to her cell repeatedly.

Li was unhappy with one of the auxiliary police officers for waking her up, and called her a dog. The officer in question entered the cell, accompanied by her colleagues.

When the officer asked Li to put on a mask and approached her holding one, Li did not cooperate. She began struggling when the officer tried to cuff her and swiped at her face, knocking off her glasses and face shield.

Li struggled violently, but the officers were eventually able to pin her down, put handcuffs on her and take her to a padded cell where they applied restraints on her.

The officers were injured in the process, as Li bit one of their hands and forearms, leaving a bite mark and cut. She also bit another officer's hands and fingers, causing scratches and bruises.

The two bitten officers sought medical attention and received doses of anti-tetanus toxoid vaccines, receiving two days of medical leave each.

The prosecutor asked for four years' jail, highlighting that Li had used "dangerous means" by biting, which carries the risk of disease transmission. She also had other charges taken into consideration involving similar offences to officers, and shows an "overall resistance" to the authorities.

Defence lawyer Wee Hong Shern asked instead for three-and-a-half years' jail, saying his client has had "a tough life", without the "benefit of a full and functioning family nexus".

An only child, Li's parents divorced when she was nine. She suffered "mental abuse" from her biological father and physical abuse from her stepfather, said Mr Wee.

He also read from a letter written by Li, in which she apologised for what she did. She wrote that she is "always the first one to stand up for my friends", and added that she had no one to share her happiness or sadness with as she was an only child and therefore put her 100 per cent into relationships.

The judge granted her a two-week deferment of her jail term to settle some matters.