, the assistant of the doctor linked to the healing the divide saga has received a heavier charge){kind=link}
On Friday (28 Jan), the assistant of the doctor linked to the healing the divide saga has received a heavier charge for his role in conspiring to defraud the Ministry of Health (MOH).
He will be remanded for another week.
40 year old Thomas Chua Cheng Soon, the assistant, then said that he was just acting as a middleman and he did not deserve to be charged with the heavier charge.
He has been remanded since 21 Jan and does not have a defense counsel representing him.
Original charge
He was initially charged with a count of conspiring with his doctor, Jipson Quah and also the patient Mehrajunnisha to deceive MOH that Mehrajunnisha has already been vaccinated with Sinopharm even though it was a blatant lie.
MOH then issued a vaccination certificate as a result of their declaration.
This offence warrants a punishment of a jail term of up to three years and/or fine.
Charge amended
The charge is now changed to match with Quah’s, which is much heavier.
He is now charged with conspiring with both Quah and Mehrajunnisha for falsely declaring to MOH.
This charge carries a possible penalty of up to 20 years jail term and/or a fine.
The Deputy Public Prosecutor also asked for Chua to be remanded longer as his presence is crucial in completing investigations and to garner evidence.
When asked by the judge, Chua said that he pleads for leniency but does not feel that the conspiracy charges are warranted as he only acts as a middleman and obeys Quah’s instructions.
He will be back in court on 4 Feb.
Founder of Healing Divide, Iris Koh, was also set to be in court today morning but her session has been changed to the Court Crime Registry Chambers which does not grant access to members of the public or media.
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