Meals deliveryman jailed for stealing e-bike batteries, fined for spitting bubble tea pearls at college students

SINGAPORE: A meals deliveryman who stole e-bike batteries, lower the brakes of bicycles and spat bubble tea pearls at Madrasah college students was sentenced to 13 weeks’ jail and fined S$3,000 on Monday (Nov 14).

Toh Jun Sheng, 27, pleaded responsible to 5 fees, together with theft, mischief and utilizing felony pressure by spitting tapioca starch balls. One other 5 fees have been thought-about in sentencing.

The courtroom heard that Toh was using his e-bike on Mar 9 final yr alongside Victoria Avenue when he shouted “hoi!” at two Madrasah college students aged 14 and 15.

The scholars made area to present solution to him, however Toh spat bubble tea pearls at them as he rode previous. The pearls landed on the tudung that one of many ladies was carrying and hit the opposite lady’s again.

Toh additionally spat bubble tea pearls at three different Madrasah college students that very same night as he was “bored” and thought it was humorous to take action.

The scholars reported the incident to their faculty and a instructor lodged a police report.

THE E-BIKE BATTERY THEFT

On Might 18 final yr, Toh was at a block in Bukit Batok when he noticed a Seize supply rider enter a elevate on the floor ground along with his e-bike.

Toh went to see which ground the elevate stopped at and realised the rider had gone as much as the ninth ground. He took the elevate as much as the seventh ground, parked his personal e-bike there and took the steps as much as the ninth ground.

He then stole a chargeable e-bike battery value S$1,500 from the sufferer’s e-bike, which was parked exterior a flat.

Two days later, Toh instructed fellow meals supply colleague Yeoh Jia Hong that he had managed to steal an e-bike battery. He requested Yeoh, who’s now 22, if he needed an e-bike battery and to observe him again to the identical place to steal one other one.

Yeoh agreed, and each males went to the identical flat on the morning of Might 21, 2021. They discovered the identical sufferer’s e-bike parked exterior his flat and stole two e-bike batteries – one was hooked up to the e-bike, whereas the second was on the ground.

Round April 2021, Toh and Yeoh grew to become sad with a person over a number of previous incidents.

On one event, the person purportedly made a face as Toh rode his e-bike previous him and requested Toh why he was not cautious.

On one other event, the person purportedly instructed his associates that e-bikers didn’t know the right way to experience correctly.

Toh and his confederate Yeoh additionally believed that the identical man had taken a photograph of their e-bikes parked close to an LRT station and lodged a criticism to the Land Transport Authority. Because of this, meals deliverymen have been banned from parking their autos in that space.

When Toh was delivering a meals order in April 2021, he got here by a flat with a black bicycle parked exterior. He believed that the bicycle belonged to the person and took a photograph of it to point out Yeoh.

Yeoh additionally believed that the bicycle belonged to the person, they usually went collectively to the flat to “disturb” the person the next month, wearing black hoodies and carrying black masks.

Toh additionally tried to puncture the tyres of a number of bicycles parked exterior with a thumb tack however failed.

The 2 males then lower the back and front brakes of two bicycles parked there. The sufferer later lodged a police report.

The courtroom heard that Toh had beforehand been convicted of a number of offences together with lurking house-trespass and offences underneath the Moneylenders Act. He was given sentences starting from a stint in a juvenile residence, a nice and jail.

Toh’s lawyer, Mr Wee Hong Shern, requested for 2 sentences to run consecutively, highlighting the efforts his consumer had made to take accountability for his actions.

He had made restitution by the investigating officer, Mr Wee mentioned.

In his mitigation plea, Mr Wee mentioned his consumer doesn’t eat the tapioca pearls present in bubble tea. 

“As such, he had sucked just a few up in his straw and spat them out within the path of some (folks),” he mentioned.

He mentioned his consumer claimed this was not a racially motivated assault and that he didn’t intentionally take purpose on the victims’ heads.

UTTERLY SHAMEFUL: JUDGE

The choose addressed Toh sternly, telling him that his actions in the direction of the scholars have been “totally shameful” and “not humorous in any respect”.

“So that you can do it greater than as soon as. Totally shameful. You assume you’re nonetheless a teen?” requested District Decide Eugene Teo.

“No sir,” replied Toh.

“You are standing earlier than the courtroom (a) absolutely grown grownup. So that you can be doing this type of issues, on individuals who have performed you no hurt – completely inexcusable,” mentioned the choose.

Nonetheless, he took under consideration the mitigation plea, with the defence saying Toh had a plan for himself. Toh has purchased a flat along with his new spouse and intends to start out a household, Mr Wee mentioned.

“You should just remember to preserve to that plan, as a result of you do not have an excellent file,” mentioned the choose.

“You stand earlier than me with fees which span 5 separate events stretching from 2020 all the best way till 2021. Some folks present that they can not deal with freedom. Mr Toh, you should not be certainly one of them,” he mentioned.

He imposed the utmost fines doable for the offences in opposition to the scholars.