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Kiwi bail jumper won’t return to S’pore to face charges

A 34-year-old New Zealander has skipped bail and his family says he has no plans to return to Singapore to face charges.

Robert Dahlberg was allegedly to be involved in a drunken attack on two taxi drivers and two passengers at Suntec City in April last year.

He and two other foreign nationals, an Australian and a Briton, were charged in court in July this year for causing grievous bodily harm.

Dahlberg allegedly caused hurt to businessman Laurence Wong Seong, 38, by swinging his fist rashly, and pushing another man, Paul Louis Liew Kai Ming, 26, causing him to hit his face against a pillar. This resulted in the man sustaining a nose bleed, forehead gash and fracture of the nasal bone.

Briton Robert Springall, 24, allegedly used a taxi without the driver's consent and crashed it. He was also said to have pushed the 57-year-old taxi driver's chest.

Separately, Australian Nathan Miller, 35, supposedly punched another cabby in the face and jumped onto the taxi's bonnet.

The judge granted Dahlberg a $25,000 bail on the condition he returned to Singapore for sentencing. However, he did not return on 29 July and is understood to have travelled to London and Hong Kong.

He faces two charges with a sentence of up to 10 years' imprisonment and caning, the police said.

It is understood that the courts had issued a warrant for his arrest on 12 September.

Dahlberg's father, Bill, confirmed Robert's bail had been paid and his passport returned to him by Singapore officials, according to The New Zealand Herald.

When asked if his son will be returning to Singapore, he told reporters, "I would think not." He declined to comment further.

Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore, a spokesperson for the Subordinate Courts said that further decisions will be made between the prosecutor and the police at a later date. An international arrest warrant may be considered.

As for the other two businessmen involved in the assault case, the first pre-trial conference will be held on 11 January. Several of such pre-trial conferences will be held before the final verdict is announced, the spokesperson noted.