SINGAPORE – A woman, who tried to grab a police officer’s loaded revolver after being involved in a minor traffic accident, was on Friday (Feb 17) sentenced to 11 months’ jail, and 12 weeks’ jail in lieu of caning.
Singapore permanent resident Han Jing, 38, was a property agent when she committed the offence at the junction of Soo Chow Drive and Soo Chow Garden Road in the Thomson area at 1.25am on Jan 22 last year.
When Staff Sergeant Muhammad Noor Abdul Rahman and Sgt Muhammad Ihsan Mohammad Helmi from the Traffic Police arrived at Soo Chow Garden Road, they found that a black Mini Cooper had crashed into a signpost, with the driver nowhere in sight
They ascertained from a passer-by that the driver – a woman wearing a white top and black skirt – had walked towards Upper Thomson Road.
When they found Han at a bus stop, they asked her to follow them to accident site which she did but when she was told to wait there, she started to walk away.
She eventually stopped a short distance away near the junction of Soo Chow Drive and Soo Chow Gardens where officers persuaded her to return to the scene.
“Suddenly, the accused reached out and firmly grabbed the butt of the victim’s (Muhammad Noor) revolver which was loaded and secured in a holster attached to the utility belt which the victim wore around his waist,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Azri Imran Tan.
Han continued pulling the revolver upwards several times.
Staff Sergeant Muhammad Noor held on tightly to his revolver. Undeterred, Han continued to pull at the revolver and the victim had to place his hands on top of her left hand to stop her. His colleague forcefully grabbed her left elbow and pulled her hand away to break her grip on the butt of the revolver.
She was then handcuffed and placed under arrest.
A psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health had diagnosed her with acute stress reaction.
A charge of throwing a flower pot, a small table and a clothes rack from the 30th floor of a condominium at St Thomas Walk last September was taken into consideration, together with causing hurt to a police officer by doing an act to endanger the personal safety of others.
DPP Tan asked for no less than nine months’ jail and an additional 12 weeks’ jail in lieu of caning to be imposed.
He cited four aggravating factors including her attempt to seize a potentially lethal weapon, her reprehensible conduct and her lack of remorse and disregard for the law.
Han’s lawyer Chung Ting Fai said in mitigation that his client, whose parents and brother are in Xinjiang, was genuinely remorseful. He said her health suffered due to the cooling-off measures in the property market and two failed relationships. He said she was genuinely remorseful.
District Judge Wong Li Tein backdated her sentence to Sept 6 last year.