Man jailed for lying to police about friend being hit by killer litter; injury was self-inflicted

• Watson Tan wanted to avoid punishment at a halfway house he had been sent to after serving time for drug offences
• He roped in his friend, Leon Lim Jun Xiang, to injure him badly enough to be hospitalised
• Tan struck himself on the head with a beer bottle, then got Lim to hit him to worsen the injury
• Lim then called the police and lied that his friend had been struck by killer litter

SINGAPORE — When Leon Lim Jun Xiang’s friend from their prison days asked to help him “escape punishment” from a halfway house, he eventually agreed to strike the other man on the head with a beer bottle to fake an injury and get him warded in a hospital.

Lim then called the police, claiming that his friend, Watson Tan, had been struck by a beer bottle thrown by someone else from a high floor.

For his actions committed last year, Lim, 26, was on Friday (Oct 29) jailed for a week. He pleaded guilty to one count of giving false information to a public servant.

Tan, 35, was jailed three weeks in February this year after similarly admitting to lying to the police.

The duo first met while they were both serving their respective remand periods in Changi Prison in 2017.

Tan was later convicted of drug consumption and possession the following year and sentenced to three years’ jail. 

He served part of the jail term before being released to Teen Challenge (Singapore) in Chua Chu Kang as part of an early release scheme, under a home detention order. The halfway house provides rehabilitation for recovering addicts. 

As part of the order, Tan had to report for work as a gym technician between May 1 and Sept 28 last year from Monday to Friday. He would then return to the halfway house and be subject to breathalyser and urine tests.

THE INCIDENT

Early last year, Lim was visiting another friend at Teen Challenge when he noticed Tan there. 

They exchanged contact details and Lim then helped Tan to perform some deliveries as a part-time worker over the next few months.

On Aug 11 last year, Tan told Lim that he needed to “escape punishment” from the halfway house and be admitted to the hospital so that he could avoid returning there. 

Court documents did not specify what he would be punished for at the halfway house. Lim understood that Tan wanted to “avoid some test” that the halfway house was going to conduct on him and he would be “kept for another two years” if he ran away.

Tan suggested that Lim could use a bottle to hit him. When Lim was hesitant to do so, Tan persisted and eventually persuaded him to do it.

The pair went to Lim’s flat along Sumang Lane in Punggol after completing some deliveries, where Tan retrieved two beer bottles from the delivery lorry. He then used the bottle to hit himself on the head but felt that it was not serious enough, so he got Lim to hit him on the head with the same bottle.

Still feeling like his injury was not severe enough, Tan intentionally hit his head against the edge of the lorry, giving himself a deep cut on his head. He began bleeding more profusely.

Lim then called the police to report that his friend had been hit by something. Tan also smashed the bottle on the curb to make sure that it shattered.

When an ambulance was dispatched to the scene and police officers arrived, Lim gave them a statement that he had met Tan for dinner and that while they were chatting, he saw a “white item landing on top of (Tan’s) head”. This item turned out to be a plastic bag containing a broken beer bottle.

Tan was then taken to Changi General Hospital where he received treatment.

Because of the false information that the duo provided, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lee Zu Zhao told the court that “significant resources were expended” by the police and other departments in investigating the matter.

A total of 20 officers were tasked to probe the matter, consuming a total of about 70 man-hours, DPP Lee added.

While an officer was reviewing police camera footage of the location, he spotted Lim walking around with a plastic bag. The bag had a payment receipt in it as well.

An investigation officer then went to a store at Funan mall to ask about the receipt, where he discovered that Tan had bought some phone accessories from the same store. The bag belonged to him.

The authorities re-interviewed the two men over these discrepancies. Lim then revealed the truth.

For giving false information to a public servant, they could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or punished with both.