'Unusual' case: Drunken man who broke into police station fined
SINGAPORE — A drunken man who wanted to get an update on his case of reported theft climbed into a police station one night, in a case described as “unusual” by the judge who heard it.
Li Nan, a 23-year-old Chinese national, was fined $400 on Tuesday (25 February) after he pleaded guilty to one count of trespassing into a Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC), a ground belonging to the government.
The deliveryman told the court that his necklace, worth $800, and mobile phone had been stolen during the Lunar New Year. Li made a police report but broke into the station two days later when he did not get an update on his case.
Li was arrested on 27 January this year at about 1.14am after he was found within the gated grounds of the NPC. He was unable to provide a satisfactory excuse for being on the grounds.
He was then detained for further investigations, during which he admitted to climbing over a wall near the rear gate of the NPC. He claimed to have done so as he wanted to get an update on a case that he had reported two days earlier.
CCTV footage captured his foray over the wall.
Unrepresented in court, Li told District Judge Marvin Bay that he had consumed alcoholic drinks and was “very sorry” for the offence.
Asked by the judge why he had trespassed into the NPC, Li said through an interpreter that he had reported the stolen items during the festive period.
The necklace was worth S$800 he added.
“Was the necklace ever recovered?” asked DJ Bay, to which Li replied “no”.
“Please tell Mr Li that this case is unusual and the fact that he trespassed into a police station,” he told the interpreter.
“I accept that you were inebriated, and of course there is a need to deter people from taking such extreme measures even if they are anxious to learn about the progress of their cases. Nevertheless, I accept your explanation, and I understand, and I am informed of your loss of property.”
The judge “strongly encouraged” Li to pay the fine.
For trespassing into a ground belonging to the government without a satisfactory excuse, Li could have been fined up to $1,000.
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