He picked on smaller-built men to hone fight skills, he told probation officer
By Lim Yi Han, The Straits Times, 14 Mar 2015
By Lim Yi Han, The Straits Times, 14 Mar 2015
A YOUTH who was bored randomly targeted foreign workers and attacked them to hone his fighting skills.
Daryl Lim Jun Liang, 18, and his friends picked on smaller foreign workers, who were deemed less likely to fight back.
In September and October last year, Lim was involved in four such incidents.
Yesterday, the prosecution called for a more "vigorous" probation for the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) student to deter him from associating with his gang members and to reflect on his wrongdoings.In January, the teen had pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt. Another charge will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that on Oct 3 last year at around 3am, Lim and his three friends - Tan Jun Liang, 18, and two other 15-year-olds, who cannot be named because of a gag order - met in Yishun and decided to look for foreign workers to assault.
At about 6am, they spotted Chinese national Zuo Yu Nian, 48, walking along Yishun Avenue 6 and attacked him.
Lim and a 15-year-old accomplice punched the construction worker multiple times on the face and mouth before fleeing.
Calling for a stricter probation, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai said that the attack was entirely unprovoked and there was a clear premeditated intent to pick on and assault a specific group with a certain build.
"This had the potential to harm social cohesion, which must be deterred," said DPP Lai.
He added that when asked by the probation officer about his actions, Lim had said they were feeling bored and that he had wanted to practise his fighting skills.
He also said that he picked on foreign workers as he had had negative encounters with them.
Such a response is "strikingly shocking" and showed Lim's "profound lack of respect for another person and his flagrant disregard for the law", DPP Lai noted.
He called for 18 months' probation with conditions, including three months in the Singapore Boys' Hostel, 120 hours of community service and a curfew between 10pm and 6am.Lim's lawyer, Mr Luke Lee, asked that his client not be sent to the Singapore Boys' Hostel as it may affect his future work prospects. Lim is expected to be sentenced on April 10.
The case involving Tan is pending. The two 15-year-olds are on 18 months' probation.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Lim could be jailed up to two years and fined up to $5,000.