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.