yo, to my readers, sorry long awaited blog entry, and sorry again for the boring newspaper article to the be entries, i promise to blog soon =)

and yo ms quah, sorry for the late work! i was lagging in realizing we even had to do it =/


Newspaper review:

Sep 25 2007

Student admits burning relative's car as revenge

By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent

A STUDENT who was to be tried with his mother for burning a relative's car at a multi-storey carpark pleaded guilty to causing mischief by fire in the Community Court on Tuesday.

Louis Hong Hsieh Shuen, 16, however, can concentrate on his year-end O-level examinations for now as the court had postponed his sentencing to Nov 14.

He admitted to burning Mr Ernest Tan's $40,500 Nissan Sunny with his classmate, Ho Ki Yeow, 17, at the carpark at Block 7B Commonwealth Avenue on Oct 24 last year. Ho has been placed on probation.

The duo ignited a piece of face towel before throwing it onto some petrol-soaked charcoal on the car's bonnet. Hong had a long-standing dispute with his aunt, the wife of Mr Ernest Tan, over an inheritance left to him by his late father.

While cycling near Commonwealth Avenue earlier last year, he spotted the couple's car coming out of the multi-storey carpark. He later decided to take revenge on the victim's wife by burning the car.

He told his mother to get some charcoal for him. On Oct 23, his mother, Teo Sew Eng, 52, placed a red plastic bag of charcoal, a bottle of petrol and a piece of towel below a fire hose reel at deck 5A of the carpark.

Later, Hong and Ho retrieved the bag and set fire to Mr Tan's car. The fire spread to a van parked beside it but it was put out by civil defence officers.

Hong's lawyer, Mr Subhas Anandan, said his client had compensated $12,150 to Mr Tan for the damage as well as $7,500 to the other vehicle owner. Hong, he added, promised he would do his best to compensate his mother for giving her so much problem.

Teo's trial is pending.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Courts%2Band%2BCrime/STIStory_161264.html?vgnmr=1

My reflections:

Louis Hong Hsieh Shuen, a 16-year-old student, set fire to his uncle, Mr. Ernest Tan’s car last year on October 24^th with aid from his classmate and mother. He did this as he had a long-standing dispute with his aunt over an inheritance left to him by his late father. The burning of the car was an act of revenge on his part. Besides burning the car, it damaged another vehicle nearby. Compensation has been paid to both Mr. Ernest Tan and the other vehicle owner. Currently, Louis is awaiting his court sentence but the trial has been postponed to November 14 2007, so as to allow him to concentrate on his upcoming O Levels Examination.

I think that Louis has been very rash in making his decision. At only 16, he actually committed arson, and this is a serious crime. Furthermore, this will definitely leave a black mark in his record, and it will not reflect well on his future. His impulsiveness has caused him to pay a severe price, and implicated his classmate and mother as well. Looking at the current situation, it is a lose-lose situation, and no one benefits from it. He should have thought it through carefully and not act on his anger.

However, this is not completely Louis’ fault. When he asked his mother to prepare the materials for him to set fire to his uncle’s car, his mother actually obliged and did not make an attempt to stop him. As his mother, she should know better, and prevent her son from committing such a stupid mistake. Her lack of guidance has therefore played a part in what her son did. I think that Louis’ mother was very unwise to let her son carry out the obviously wrong act. Not only did she not dissuade him, she actually helped him. This is extremely unbecoming of a parent.

Youths in the society now are becoming increasingly impulsive, and their gung-ho attitude can get them into trouble at times. Furthermore, they are mostly concerned with themselves and neglect what harm their actions can cause to others. This is uncalled for, and definitely not a good social sign. They must be more self-disciplined, and recognize potential harmful consequences that will not benefit them so that they can prevent such unhappy outcomes. Without this self-discipline, youths will get themselves into a lot of unwanted trouble as a result of impulsiveness and self-centeredness.

Besides them being self-disciplined, they must also be guided properly, and be taught what are the right things. Youths have their freedom, and it is good that they continue to possess it, but when they are straying from the right path, mature adults should step in and give them advice instead of instigating them. To retain the right to their freedom, they must learn how to use it in the correct way, and not abuse it.

Newspaper review:

Sep 5 2007

Failed relationship may have led soldier to go AWOL with rifle

By Jermyn Chow & David Boey

ARMY Corporal Dave Teo Ming, 20, was last seen at the Mandai Hill Camp on Sunday in his camouflage army fatigues.

Twenty hours later, he was arrested in a third-floor toilet in the Orchard Cineleisure mall, dressed in a black suit and tie.

With him were the missing assault rifle and live ammunition taken from the camp where he had been on guard duty.

The lean-built full-time national serviceman, one month from completing his NS stint, triggered an islandwide manhunt after he went absent without official leave (AWOL) with the loaded SAR-21 rifle.

No further information was released yesterday by the police or Defence Ministry, but details of his life have emerged that suggest his actions could be linked to a failed relationship.

His former girlfriend, Miss Crystal Liew, 18, got a phone call from the police at about 7am on Monday, while she was at a Pasir Ris chalet with her friends. They wanted to know whether she knew where he was.

'I was clueless as I had not seen nor spoken to him for about two weeks,' said Miss Liew, who had broken off with him five months ago.

She was told to stay put and a car was sent over to get her.

According to Miss Liew, she was introduced to Cpl Teo by friends in 2003, some time after he had dropped out of Secondary 3.

They dated for more than three years, spending time in his home, playing computer games, eating meals cooked by his grandmother and shopping.

Miss Liew said: 'He was very sweet and generous as he would buy me clothes, souvenirs and a watch even when he wasn't earning much with his army pay.'

But he was also very possessive, she said. After he enlisted in 2005, she alleged that he would call her up to five times and send about 10 messages every day, so he could keep tabs on her whereabouts.

And he disapproved of her going out with her own friends.

She said: 'I was like a prisoner when he stopped me from meeting other people and scolded me for smiling at people I speak to, accusing me of flirting.'

Miss Liew broke up with Cpl Teo in March and has been seeing someone else since.

Tempers boiled over and he kicked up a ruckus at her house on five occasions, and stalked her for at least a week when she went out, she claimed.

She added that things got worse and he had threatened to kill her and her family.

Her father told The Straits Times he had called the police for help, but did not lodge a police report.

Cpl Teo kept away after that and last month, Miss Liew saw him for the last time, at his birthday party.

Among the last few people to talk to Cpl Teo was his friend of 16 years, administrative executive Bocky Tan, who described him as being 'emotional yet happy-go-lucky'.

Cpl Teo called him at about 10pm, just before he went AWOL, and asked if he could stay over that night as he had quarrelled with his family.

Mr Tan turned him down. 'Normally, he would talk to me first and get my advice, but this time he never said a word.'

The next he heard of him was his arrest.

It is believed that Cpl Teo lives with his grandparents, a cousin and an uncle.

His relatives declined to be interviewed yesterday when approached at the family's three-room flat in New Upper Changi Road, except to say they last saw him on Friday.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_154880.html

My Reflections:

This incident is undoubtedly one of the more weird happenings that I have heard recently. The act of leaving camp with loaded ammunition may not seem that much of a strange action, but the reason for Dave Teo Ming, the full time national serviceman, to commit such an act indeed raises eyebrows.

The reason that caused Teo to leave camp on impulse is said to be because of a breakup with his girlfriend of more than three years. However, they have broken up for more than 5 months already, and according to Miss Crystal Liew, his ex-girlfriend, Teo was a possessive person and after the breakup, he harassed and stalked her to the extent that Miss Liew’s father had to call the police for help.

This offence of being AWOL (absent without official leave), was worsened by the fact that Teo had taken ammunition with him. His action resulted in an islandwide search that involved more than 200 police officers.

In my opinion, I think that Teo has committed a very foolish offence, and the price he will have to pay will be dear. Teo did not think of the consequences of his action carefully, and acted on impulse, resulting in the worry of many people, as well as causing inconvenience to the general public and police officers. Being a grown man, he should have been more rational and levelheaded, and should not have even thought of performing such a childish act. His inconsiderate actions have led to an outcome that I am sure he will regret, as he is currently facing a court case for committing offences under the Arms Offences Act. Besides, a breakup is not a sufficiently backed up reason for such a disappearing act. In any case, leaving camp with loaded ammunition is unjustified, as it will cause the public to be in danger, and pose a threat to them. What makes it even more ambiguous is the fact that the breakup happened more than 5 months ago.

On the other hand, Teo’s actions can be said to be something that he did in a state of rashness, with no evil intentions. His lack of control over his own emotions led him to perform such an act, and the breakup probably resulted in him being vulnerable to rash decisions. This should be taken into consideration, at the very least, to provide a small justification for the rash action.

This incident, on a deeper level, reflects the vulnerability of the young people in this century. We cannot afford to have our army men going AWOL and causing panic within the city. They have a responsibility to the country and themselves, and they must learn how to handle this responsibility properly. I think that others should learn from this incident and not commit similar mistakes. Though no harm was done this time, we cannot afford to risk a second time.