Corpun file 23954

The Straits Times, Singapore, 6 April 2012, p.A3

22 years, 12 [sic] strokes for man who jumped bail

Repeat offender who fled to Malaysia finally faces the music

By Fiona Low

HE HAD been caught for drug trafficking, but pleaded to be let out on bail to get married to his pregnant fiancee.

But after his mother paid with money from the sale of her flat, he abandoned his bride and fled to Malaysia.

Yesterday, Irfan Ahmed Khan, 29, was convicted of eight charges which, apart from absconding and leaving Singapore without a valid passport, included drug trafficking and attacking three police officers. He was sentenced to a total of 22 years in jail and 15 strokes of the cane.

The sentence marked the end of a two-year period over which the unemployed man repeated behaviour that was to become a pattern. His family would post bail for him, only for him to commit another crime while out on bail, and he would be taken into custody again.

Irfan was first hauled to court in January 2010 for lashing out at three policemen.

He was in a car driven by his brother on Upper Circular Road on Jan 3 that year when they were stopped at a road block.

Irfan punched an officer in the nose and kicked another in the knee when they tried to arrest his brother after the latter failed a breathalyser test.

As he fled the scene, Irfan challenged the officers to arrest him. He punched a third officer on the chin while trying to get away.

For this, he faced three counts of voluntarily causing hurt to victims who are public servants, with the aim of deterring them from discharging their duty.

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While out on $20,000 bail, he was arrested two months later with nearly 250g of suspected methamphetamine in his possession.

Financially strapped, he had approached a dealer for "work" and was told to sell the drugs. He was caught in his car shortly after receiving the drugs on March 31, 2010.

Analysis by the Health Sciences Authority determined that the total quantity of methamphetamine, commonly known as Ice, was about 191g, short of the 250g which warrants the mandatory death penalty. For this, he was charged with one count of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.

A raid of his home on March 31 also turned up 24 tablets containing a Class A controlled drug. These were determined to be for his own use, and he faced one count of drug possession.

Bail was offered at $100,000 in November 2010, which his family put up.

But two months later, he was again picked up for possession of methamphetamine -- almost 20g of it. He was charged with another count of drug possession.

No bail was offered this time, but his lawyer later succeeded in convincing the High Court to grant a one-day conditional bail of another $100,000 for Irfan to marry on June 7 last year.

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While on bail, he borrowed his brother's car to take his fiancee to a mosque in Yishun. But he abandoned here there and fled the country, hiding in a lorry carrying vegetables and heading to Johor Baru.

He was arrested 17 days later in Johor Baru, and the court forfeited $85,000 of the bail money.

He was charged for absconding and for leaving Singapore without presenting a valid passport to an immigration officer.

In passing sentence yesterday, the judge took at least six other charges into consideration.

Irfan was sentenced to nine months in jail for each of the three counts of voluntarily causing hurt to the police officers.

He was sentenced to 20 years in jail and 15 strokes of the cane for the charge of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, and 15 months in jail on each of the two charges of drug possession.

For the charges of absconding and contravening the Immigration Act, he was sentenced to one and three months in jail respectively.

Three of the eight sentences were ordered to run consecutively.

Corpun file 23969

Muhammad Hyder Rahamad, 22, who robbed a 13-year-old student of his mobile phone in a lift, was sentenced to the minimum two years' jail and six strokes of the cane on Thursday. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Straits Times Interactive, Singapore, 12 April 2012

Man jailed, caned for robbing teenager of mobile phone in lift

By Elena Chong

A man who robbed a 13-year-old student of his mobile phone in a lift was sentenced to the minimum two years' jail and six strokes of the cane on Thursday.

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Muhammad Hyder Rahamad, 22, who pleaded guilty, had followed the male victim into the lift at a block of flats in Ang Mo Kio Street 31 on March 7.

The boy had been busy texting his friend earlier on.

Inside the lift, the boy continued sending messages after pressing the 24th floor button while Muhammad Hyder pressed the fifth floor.

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