In a recent legal development, Mr. Mijos Policarpo Aranaydo, a 43-year-old Filipino residing in Singapore, has been granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal on November 3. The case involved an accusation of molesting a woman inside an operating theatre, according to The Straits Times.

Compounding of Offences

The discharge granted to Mr. Aranaydo implies that he cannot be charged again with the same offence. This legal resolution raises discussions on the nuances of the Singaporean legal system and the factors influencing such decisions.

Central to this case is the compounding of the offence. In Singapore, only specific offences can be compounded, including cases of causing hurt and outrage of modesty. Compounding involves reaching an agreement with the victim, typically involving compensation, an apology, or other terms acceptable to both parties.

The decision to compound an offence is not taken lightly. The public prosecutor carefully assesses the public interest, circumstances of the offence, and any aggravating factors before agreeing to the terms proposed by the accused. This ensures a balance between justice and the resolution sought through compounding.

Mr. Aranaydo’s Accusation

The accusations against Mr. Aranaydo involved the alleged outrage of a woman’s modesty at a medical centre in the prestigious Paragon shopping mall on Orchard Road. The incident reportedly occurred between 9.45 am and 10.20 am on March 22, 2022. However, court documents did not disclose the reason for his presence at the medical centre during that time.

In a move that added complexity to the case, Mr. Aranaydo sought to compound the offence instead of facing prosecution. The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) revealed that the victim accepted the offer made by Mr. Aranaydo. While the details of the composition were not disclosed, the AGC spokesperson mentioned, “Having reviewed the facts and circumstances of the case as well as the victim’s agreement, the prosecution decided to accede to the request to have the matter compounded.”

Legal Consequences of Molestation

Molestation is a serious offence in Singapore, carrying penalties that include imprisonment for up to three years, fines, caning, or a combination of these punishments. The decision to compound such cases raises discussions about the effectiveness of alternative resolutions in the pursuit of justice.

A total of 18 persons, aged between 17 and 41, have been arrested; and another 21 persons, aged between 16 and 55, are being investigated for their suspected involvement in a Government Officials Impersonation Scam (“GOIS”) case, following an island-wide anti-scam enforcement operation conducted between 21 October 2023 and 6 November 2023.

On 21 October 2023, the Police received a report that a victim had fallen prey to a GOIS, incurring more than $90,000 in losses. Through investigations, the money was found to have been layered through a complex network of bank accounts. Eventually, all of the victim’s losses were withdrawn from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) within the same day.

On 20 October 2023, the male victim had received a call from a female caller (scammer) claiming to be acting for “DBS”, who alleged that someone had attempted to make three bank transactions to transfer funds from the victim’s DBS bank account to a UOB bank account. The woman claimed that she was calling to verify the transfers with the victim. When the victim confirmed that he had not authorised any such transfers, he was told by the scammer that the matter will be referred to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the “MAS Regulations”.

Shortly after, the victim received a call from a male caller claiming to be “Inspector Hoo Jun Hoon” (scammer) from the “Singapore Police Force”. “Inspector Hoo” then sent the victim an image of a fake Police warrant card via WhatsApp. The caller alleged that the victim was a suspect in a case of money-laundering where $80,000 was transferred to his bank account, and the victim’s credit card was found in the possession of a “suspect” whom the “Police” had “arrested”. When the victim denied being involved, he was told to render his cooperation.

Subsequently, the victim received a call from “Inspector Gavin Wei Jun” (scammer), claiming to be “Inspector Hoo’s” superior from the “Commercial Affairs Department”. The victim was told that a formal investigation would be opened and that his full cooperation was required to clear him of money-laundering charges. He was told that “Inspector Gavin” was his liaison officer, and that “Senior Inspector Wong Siew Chong” (scammer) was the overall in charge of the case.

When “Senior Inspector Wong” called the victim, he was referred to an audit officer “Investigation Officer Chua Chee Hong” (scammer) who had to conduct financial inspection of the victim’s personal DBS account. “Investigation Officer Chua” then sent the victim two letters with the Singapore Police Force’s logo via WhatsApp and instructed the victim to open an “OCBC safety account” as this was required by the investigation. The victim was then told to transfer a specific sum of money to this “safety account” so that the investigator could track the movement of the money. Believing that this safety account belonged to him, the victim complied and transferred more than $90,000 to this “safety account”.

Following the victim’s lodging of a police report, officers from the Anti-Scam Command of the Commercial Affairs Department commenced investigations, which led to the conduct of an island-wide operation. 12 individuals were arrested for suspected involvement in selling and renting their bank accounts by relinquishing their bank cards and iBanking credentials to criminal syndicates. A further 21 individuals are assisting with investigations.

Five of those arrested have been charged, and a sixth person will be charged tomorrow, for offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1993 for abetting persons to secure unauthorised access to our banks’ computer systems:

1. a 32-year-old male for selling his bank account to a criminal syndicate.
   
2. a 29-year-old male for facilitating the sale of another person’s bank account to the criminal syndicate.
   
3. a 31-year-old male and a 19-year-old male for assisting the syndicate to perform cash withdrawals from fraudulently obtained bank accounts. At least five mobile phones, more than 90 SIM cards and about 80 bank cards were seized from them.
   
4. a 32-year-old male for collecting cash withdrawn by the 31-year-old male which he subsequently handed over to another member of the syndicate.
   
5. a 24-year-old male for assisting the criminal syndicate to activate fraudulently obtained bank cards and registering the corresponding iBanking accounts. At least three bank cards, four SIM cards and numerous bank correspondences were seized from him.

For abetting persons to secure unauthorised access to the bank’s computer system, the offence under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries a fine of up to $5,000, an imprisonment term of up to two years, or both, for a first-time offender.

The Police take a serious view of the offence and will not hesitate to take action against individuals who may be involved in scams and money laundering. Perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

To avoid being an accomplice to these crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others for their personal bank accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others. The Police would like to remind members of the public that individuals will be held accountable if they are found to be linked to such crimes.

Members of the public are advised to adopt these three measures to A-C-T (Add, Check, Tell) against scams:

1. ADD – ScamShield App and security features (e.g. enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks and set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, including PayNow). Do not allow anyone to access your bank account(s) or Singpass.
   
2. CHECK – For scam signs with official sources (e.g. ScamShield WhatsApp bot @ https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot, or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688, or visit www.scamalert.sg). Scammers may use the names of police officers to gain trust from the victims. No police officer or government official would require you to transfer money to any designated bank accounts. You may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-000 for further checks and advice after office hours.
   
3. TELL – Authorities, family, and friends about scams and do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively. Report the number to messaging platforms (e.g., WhatsApp and Telegram) to initiate in-app blocking and report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

The Police have arrested 31 men and one woman, aged between 24 and 67, for their suspected involvement in conducting unlawful remote betting operations.

In an operation conducted from 5 to 6 November 2023, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department, Special Operations Command and seven Land Divisions mounted simultaneous raids at multiple locations island-wide, including Ubi, Ang Mo Kio, Watten Estate, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Punggol, Fernvale, Yishun and Tampines, resulting in the arrests of the 32 persons.

During the operation, valuables amounting close to S$1 million, comprising more than S$860,000 in cash and eight luxury watches, were seized. This is in addition to the seizure of electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones, and gambling-related documents which were believed to be used in the syndicated gambling activities.

Two men, aged 41 and 58, will be charged in court on 7 November 2023 with offences under the Gambling Control Act 2022.

Investigation against the other persons are ongoing.

Under Section 18(2) of the Gambling Control Act 2022, any person who is found to be involved in conducting an unlawful betting operation as an operator shall be liable on a conviction to a fine not exceeding S$500,000 and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

Under Sec 18(3) of the same Act, any person who is found to be involved in conducting an unlawful betting operation as an agent shall be liable on a conviction to a fine not exceeding S$200,000 and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Under Section 20(3) of the same Act, any person who gambles with an unlawful gambling service provider shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$10,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.

Police take a serious view against all forms of illegal betting activities and will continue to take tough enforcement action and prosecute those involved to the fullest extent of the law.

The Police have arrested a 26-year-old man for his suspected involvement in three cases of loanshark harassment.

On 7 November 2023 at about 8.15am, the Police were alerted to a case of loanshark harassment at a residential unit along Punggol Walk, where the unit was splashed with red paint and a debtor’s note was left behind.

Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from Police cameras, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on the same day. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is also allegedly involved in two other cases of loanshark harassment at Choa Chu Kang Avenue 7 and Clementi Avenue 5. One pen, a notebook, a sling bag, a T-shirt and a pair of pants were seized as case exhibits.

The man will be charged in court on 9 November 2023 under the Moneylenders Act 2008. For first time offenders, the offence of loanshark harassment carries a fine between $5000 and $50,000, with imprisonment of up to five years, and caning of up to six strokes.

The Police have zero tolerance against loanshark harassment activities. Those who deliberately vandalise properties, cause annoyance or disrupt public safety, peace and security, will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law.

Members of the public are advised to stay away from loansharks and not to work with or assist the loansharks in any way. The public can call the Police at ‘999‘ or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800-924-5664 if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in loansharking activities.

Don’t Pay More! Know Your Duty and GST Obligations When You Cross into Singapore via Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints

• Over 4,000 cases were detected from January to October this year resulting in over $1.4 million in penalties
• Recent operations at the land checkpoints also showed cases involving home ware and furnishings, as well as fashion and personal accessories, are on the rise

            In the first 10 months of this year (January-October 2023), Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints saw 4,669 cases involving travellers and importers who failed to declare and pay duties and Goods and Services Tax (GST) for dutiable and taxable goods. The total amount of duty and GST recovered was $14,190.67 and the total composition sum (penalty) imposed was close to $1,422,460. In its latest operations at these land checkpoints in October, Singapore Customs (Customs), together with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) detected 58 cases and recovered $624.45 in duty and GST. $9,700 in composition sums were imposed. While tobacco-related cases make up half of the cases, cases involving home ware and furnishings, as well as fashion and personal accessories, like parts of furniture items, curtains, luxury bags, shoes and belts, are on the rise. About 28% of the cases from the recent operations are from these categories.

2.          “It is not worth to take a risk and pay more. We have seen people trying to evade duty and GST as low as $10 to as much as $2,000 and they end up paying 10-20 times more. Some may even get charged in courts. We urge all travellers and importers including couriers to use the Customs@SG Web application to declare and pay for their overseas purchases truthfully, including goods carried for or on behalf of other persons,” said a Singapore Customs spokesperson.

3.          During the operations in October, Customs and ICA officers directed more than 200 inbound cars and travellers for enhanced checks. During these examinations, the officers detected a variety of irregularities. The following were some detections for which composition sums were imposed:

a) Importation of goods for sales or commercial purposes by importers and couriers

• A male Work Permit Holder failed to declare 10 sets of night curtains in his vehicle which were intended for commercial use. The amount of GST involved was $60.40 and a composition sum of $600 was imposed.
• Another male Work Permit Holder failed to declare a set of drawer runners and two doors in his vehicle which were intended for commercial use. The amount of GST involved was $12.50 and a composition sum of $125 was imposed.

b) Overseas purchases by travellers

• A female traveller was found with two undeclared luxury bags. The amount of GST involved was $57.65 and a composition sum of $575 was imposed.
• A female traveller was found with two undeclared luxury bags and apparel. The amount of GST involved was $56.45 and a composition sum of $560 was imposed.
• A female traveller was found with one undeclared luxury bag and belt. The amount of GST involved was $31.30 and a composition sum of $310 was imposed.

c) Undeclared cigarettes and tobacco-related products

• A female Singaporean was caught with two packets of undeclared cigarettes concealed around her waistline. As the cigarettes did not comply with the Standardised Packaging (SP) requirements, they were disposed of at the checkpoint.
• A male Singapore Permanent Resident was found with four packets of undeclared cigarettes in his bag at the bus arrival hall. Similar to the above case, the cigarettes were disposed of at the checkpoint as they did not comply with SP requirements.

4.          We will continue to conduct enforcement operations, including joint operations with other government agencies regularly, as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with Singapore’s customs and tax laws; as well as to ensure the security of our borders.

5.          Under the Customs Act, any person who is in any way concerned in any fraudulent evasion of, or attempt to fraudulently evade, any customs duty or excise duty shall be guilty of an offence and will be liable on conviction to a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded or jailed for up to two years.

6.          To avoid the hefty penalties and for their own convenience, we strongly encourage importers and travellers to make an advance declaration and payment for their dutiable or GST goods up to three days prior to their arrival in Singapore, using the Customs@SG Web Application. Those intending to pay for their dutiable and taxable items upon arrival may do so at our Customs Tax Payment Office at the various checkpoints.

7.          If they are unsure of the applicable GST import relief entitlements or duty-free allowances, they may also consult Singapore Customs officers at the Customs Tax Payment Office. Members of the public can obtain more information by calling the Singapore Customs hotline on 6355 2000, or referring to our website (https://go.gov.sg/customs-guide-for-arriving-travellers).

8.          From 1 July 2020, all cigarettes and other tobacco products imported into, sold, offered for sale or distributed in Singapore must comply with the SP requirements. Cigarettes and/or tobacco products that do not comply with the SP requirements will be disposed of at the checkpoints. Travellers must ensure that their cigarettes and/or tobacco products comply with the SP requirements before making a declaration and payment via the Customs@SG web application.

9.          For a smooth and hassle-free arrival experience, we would like to remind all importers and travellers to strictly abide by Singapore’s customs and immigration laws as failure to comply may result in penalties and prosecution. The Singapore authorities adopt a zero-tolerance stance on any illegal activities. ICA will continue to conduct security checks at the checkpoints to safeguard our land, air and sea borders against smuggling activities that may pose security threats to Singapore.

SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
9 NOVEMBER 2023

In the heart of Lim Chu Kang, a troubling issue has come to light that demands urgent attention. A group of compassionate dog feeders, part of the “Save the LCK Dogs” Facebook group, took to social media on Nov. 8 to shed light on the escalating problem of roadkill in the area.

The perspective offered is heart-wrenching, narrated by a stray dog named Baogong Jr., who has tragically lost his father to a hit-and-run accident on the very stretch that used to be their cherished hangout spot.

The Tragic Scene

In the poignant Facebook post, Baogong Jr. is depicted standing by the side of the road, reminiscing about the times he spent with his father before the tragic incident.

This particular stretch, while a favorite for the dogs, is also a perilous zone frequented by heavy vehicles, leaving the local canine community vulnerable and in constant danger.

The incident involving Baogong Jr.’s father, Baogong, serves as a stark reminder of the risks these dogs face daily.

Two months ago, the senior Baogong met a tragic end, and the feeders, notified promptly, found his lifeless body still warm on the road.

The heart-wrenching scene was compounded by another dog, Dalmatian, standing in distress over the lifeless body, having possibly witnessed the entire incident.

Feeders’ Concerns

The emotional toll on the feeders is evident in the post. They express their daily worries, acknowledging the uncertainty of which dog might become the next victim of the treacherous road. The plea for help is earnest, emphasizing the need for a safe haven for these dogs. Injured dogs require funds for treatment, and every bit of assistance is crucial.

Baogong Jr.’s voice echoes through the post, making a heartfelt plea for support. The dogs need a sanctuary away from the hazardous roads, and financial assistance for medical care is imperative. The urgency in their call to action is palpable, urging the community to share their plight and contribute to ensuring their safety.

Save the LCK Dogs’ Facebook post

Good morning all, my name is Baogong Jr. This is one of the roads I like to hang out at with my friends. Heavy vehicles zoom up and down this stretch, we always scurry to safety because some wouldn’t slow down for us.

I was named after my dad, the handsome Baogong! 2 months ago, he was killed in a hit-and-run accident..

Feeders had received a message that he had been ran over. They rushed down to find his body still warm on the road, meaning the accident had just happened.

Dalmatian (dad’s good friend) was standing in distress over the body. He must have witnessed what happened. Dad was then sent off for cremation by the feeders while a confused Dalmatian stood nearby in shock.

The feeders worry about us everyday, we don’t know who will become the next roadkill. We need a place to go after we’re taken off the roads, e.g. shelters/boarding/fosterers etc. If we’re injured we need funds for treatment too. Every bit of help matters.

You can help us first by sharing our plight

Background of the feeders

Hello everyone!

We are a group of independent feeders who want to save the dogs at Lim Chu Kang. The government has already started reclaiming the land and these dogs will eventually have no home. Many of the dogs have been abandoned by the factories when the companies moved out. Since the land reclamation started this year, many dogs have been forced out and onto the roads with heavy vehicular traffic and many dogs have succumbed to be roadkill. Injured dogs are also a frequent sight.

As feeders, we have rescued 13 dogs so far in 2023. There were another 8 that were not so fortunate, they had died from hit-and-runs, snake bites, injuries, illnesses etc. Our funding and resources are short and time is running out to save the LCK dogs. Through this page we hope to help the dogs tell their stories and find help for them.

Everyone of you can play a part in this. Follow us for more updates