Teen admits to beating up fellow Singapore Boys’ Hostel resident over theft claim, threatening dad with knife

SINGAPORE, Aug 7 — When faced with accusations that he had stolen from a fellow Singapore Boys’ Hostel resident, a teen took offence and beat up his victim twice, forcing him to strip naked and lick the shoes of two other teens.

This was despite him having taken S$50 (RM168) from the victim.

Yesterday, the 17-year-old pleaded guilty to one count each of voluntarily causing hurt, insulting modesty using words and producing child abuse material.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of theft, and one count of threatening his father with a knife.

Nine similar charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing, which will take place on a later date.

The teens involved in the case cannot be named as they are under the age of 18.

Stolen money

The court heard that the victim, the offender, along with a co-accused identified in court documents as B2, were residents at the hostel.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Matthew Choo said that the offender and B2 stole some money from the victim. However, when the victim confronted them, they took offence.

On the evening of July 19, 2023, the offender and B2 coerced the victim to go into a common toilet at the hostel where they slapped, punched and kicked the victim.

B2 threatened the victim not to “falsely” make such accusations again, but the offender said the matter was not “settled” between him and the victim.

All three bumped into another teenager outside the toilet and recounted what had just happened to the victim.

This other teenager reported the matter to the staff members of the hostel the next day.

Two days later, some time before 6.40am, the offender went outside the hostel and waited for the victim.

“When the accused saw the victim, he accosted the victim and asked the victim to skip school with him,” said DPP Choo. While the victim initially refused, he agreed when B2 pressured him.

As the trio went to a nearby MRT station, the offender called a friend, whom court documents identified as B3.

During the call, the offender and B2 told B3 that they wanted to beat up the victim for the theft accusation and for reporting them to the hostel staff members over the toilet incident.

The four teens then headed to a multi-storey car park in Punggol, where the offender, B2 and B3 beat up the victim.

The offender then handed his phone to B3, who recorded the assault.

They asked the victim to strip naked, before continuing to kick and punch him.

The offender also made the victim lick B2’s and B3’s shoes, before demanding that the victim kneel on the floor and apologise while naked, among other things.

“As the victim was complying with the accused’s demands, the accused and B3 took turns to kick the victim once each on his groin area,” said DPP Choo.

The offender and B2 then warned the victim that if he reported the matter, he would be beaten up again. The duo and B3 then left the car park.

In total, the assault lasted about half an hour.

The victim got dressed, called his form teacher and headed to school. A school counsellor took him to the hospital, where he was examined and found to suffer from multiple swelling and bruises.

He was later admitted to a ward, though the court documents did not mention how long he was warded.

Kitchen knife attack

The court also heard that the offender had stolen a bottle of alcohol from a supermarket in Jurong Point on March 5 this year.

However, he was caught when he triggered a fashion store’s anti-theft alarm as he tried to steal a pair of jeans.

At about 9pm on May 1, the offender’s mother reminded him that he had to wake up early to report for bail for investigations related to the shop theft.

In response, he said he could not wake up so early, and they started arguing.

In his anger, the offender stepped onto a table, causing one of its legs to give way.

The offender’s father then held onto the teen to prevent him from getting violent, and let the teen go when he apologised.

However, the offender was still angry and retrieved a kitchen knife with an 18cm blade.

“The accused pointed the knife at his father and told his father that if the latter wanted to play games, the accused can play with him,” said DPP Choo.

The offender’s mother then told the elder man to go into the bedroom, while she tried to calm the teen down.

The offender told her that he wanted to kill his father before swinging the knife in the air. However, he accidentally cut himself on his right ring finger, and his mother called for the police.

On Tuesday, Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh called for two reports to see if the offender is suitable for reformative training or probation.

Reformative training is a regime where young offenders are detained at a reformative training centre and undergo required rehabilitation programmes.

Probation, on the other hand, does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

B2 pleaded guilty on June 21 and is awaiting sentencing. B3’s case is still pending.

For criminal intimidation where the threat is to cause death, a person can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined or both.

For voluntarily causing hurt, a person can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or both.

A person convicted of insulting a person’s modesty can be jailed for up to one year or fined, or both.

A person who produces child abuse material can be jailed for up to 10 years, and fined or caned.

For theft, a person can be jailed up to seven years and fined. — TODAY