Toa Payoh HDB vandals: Three plead guilty
Three of the five suspects seen being brought to court on May 10, 2014 to be charged for allegedly vandalising the rooftop of a HDB flat in Toa Payoh. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — Three teens today (Jan 28) admitted to vandalising the rooftop of a Housing Development Board block along Toa Payoh on May 6 last year.
Boaz Koh Wen Jie, Reagan Tan Chang Zhi and Chay Nam Shen pleaded guilty to five charges each for vandalism, theft and criminal trespass today (Jan 28). Koh had six other charges were taken into consideration while Tan and Chay had five other charges taken into consideration.
The court heard Chay, Tan and Koh, all 18, met accomplices David William Graaskov and Goh Rong Liang at Block 85A Lorong 4 Toa Payoh on the evening of May 6 last year. At around 11.45pm, they stole cans of spray paint worth S$12 from a lorry in a carpark nearby and agreed to spray graffiti at the rooftop of Block 85A.
Graaskov then left the party so he could catch the last bus home.
The other four proceeded to the rooftop. While the roof access door was locked, they managed to climb through the railing at the staircase to reach the rooftop through a small gap.
At about 12.30am, they started spraying profanities targeted at the People’s Action Party and police on the wall.
After that, they took the lift down, and Koh threw the spray cans down a rubbish chute.
Cost for repainting the vandalised walls amounted to S$129.
Further investigation revealed that the four had trespassed this rooftop twice and Graavskov had been there once. All five had also trespassed into the Marina Bay Suites condominium on Mar 29, last year. Koh, Tan, Chay, and Graavskov had also trespassed into a construction site in late 2013 by climbing onto a crane.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tang Shangjun said their offences were aggravated by the significant public disquiet that ensued, the use of abusive language, and a clear escalation in their offences.
District Judge Lim Keng Yeow Koh adjourned sentencing for Koh to Feb 18, and Tan and Chay to March 2. Koh had committed these offences while on probation for theft and trespass.
Graaskov was given 15 months’ supervised probation on Monday while Goh’s case will be mentioned on Feb 9.
They could be jailed up to three years or fined up to S$2,000, and may also be punished with at least three strokes of the cane.
