Three get jail time for stealing to Singapore by sea
SINGAPORE - The three defendants who stole into Singapore by sea in a fruitless attempt to take a two-year-old back to London had been sentenced to jail. The State Courts heard today that the boy’s mother, who cannot be named as it will lead to identification of her child, gets ten weeks of jail time, while her accomplices 38-year-old Adam Whittington and 39-year-old Todd Wilson are sentenced 16 and ten weeks respectively.
SINGAPORE - The three defendants who stole into Singapore by sea in a fruitless attempt to take a two-year-old back to London had been sentenced to jail. The State Courts heard today that the boy’s mother, who cannot be named as it will lead to identification of her child, gets ten weeks of jail time, while her accomplices 38-year-old Adam Whittington and 39-year-old Todd Wilson are sentenced 16 and ten weeks respectively.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ailene Chou submitted that this was a “meticulous” and “carefully thought out” plan that was put in place since April this year, when the boy’s mother approached Whittington, managing director of a a non-governmental organisation specialising in recovering children, to get her child back from Singapore.
Whittington had then made several trips to Singapore to observe potential entry points at Raffles Marina and the situation at the grandparents’ apartment. With the help of Wilson, who helped steer a catamaran, all three met in Langkawi on August 14 and headed to Singapore. They reached Singapore waters shortly after 6am on Aug 19 at Raffles Marina in Tuas and did not pass through immigration. Raffles Marina is a country club with berthing facilities, but it is not authorised for landing between 5pm and 9am. All yachts arriving from overseas requiring inward immigration clearances must await clearance at designated zones.
Whittington was also involved in a scuffle with the boy’s paternal grandparents, which resulted in injuries. A medical report obtained over the weekend had showed that his grandmother sustained abrasions.
DPP Chou said all three displayed a “complete disregard of law” by going ahead with their plans despite being well aware of the contravention.
In meting out the sentences, Justice Liew Thiam Leng said that the accused persons had “taken the law in their own hands” and took “carefully planned steps to attain their objectives”.
The jail terms start from August 21 when they were remanded.