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Jail for man who fled to Thailand after violent screwdriver attack on teenager in 2008

SINGAPORE — Tired of being on the run for close to 10 years for a violent crime he committed in 2008, and hoping for a fresh start in life on a farm in Thailand, a Singaporean man made the decision to give himself up.

Peh Kok Wah pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to his ex-girlfriend’s friend with a screwdriver that could have led to the victim’s death.

Peh Kok Wah pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to his ex-girlfriend’s friend with a screwdriver that could have led to the victim’s death.

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  • A man who absconded to Thailand was arrested after he returned to Singapore last year
  • He was finally jailed for an offence he committed in 2008
  • He had attacked his ex-girlfriend’s teenage friend with a screwdriver that left her with two permanent scars
  • The man’s lawyers said that he was tired of being a fugitive and wished to restart life with his new family in Thailand

 

SINGAPORE — Tired of being on the run for close to 10 years for a violent crime he committed in 2008, and hoping for a fresh start in life on a farm in Thailand, a Singaporean man made the decision to give himself up.

Peh Kok Wah surrendered to the Thai authorities and he was arrested when he arrived at Changi Airport on Aug 20 last year.

On Wednesday (Aug 26), the 40-year-old was sentenced to six months’ jail for one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to another with a screwdriver that could have led to the victim’s death. 

A second charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a separate individual by slapping her on the cheek was taken into consideration for sentencing.

THE CASE

Court documents showed that Peh’s offences happened in the wee hours of Sept 11 in 2008 when he was 28 years old. 

He was drinking with his friends at a pub along Boat Quay when he spotted his ex-girlfriend, Ms How Shu Min, at another establishment called Mini-Pub.  

Ms How, who was 18 at the time, was at Mini-Pub to check on her then 19-year-old friend Anastasia Tie when she received a call from Peh to meet for a talk.

She initially refused but relented when Peh threatened to cause trouble at Mini-Pub.

Peh later insisted on sending her home and she reluctantly agreed to it after some persuasion. 

They were accompanied by Ms Tie and a third woman, Ms Teng Shao Chin, then-18. All four individuals boarded a taxi. 

Though it was the first time they had met each other, Ms Tie got into an argument with Peh during the ride because Peh had blamed her for influencing Ms How to break up with him. 

Court documents stated that Ms How split up with him because she was being ill-treated by him.  

Despite Ms Tie’s request for the taxi driver to head to a police station, the driver acceded to Peh’s demands to stop along Clementi Avenue 6 instead.

Pulling out a 15cm-long screwdriver, Peh pointed it at Ms How’s stomach and demanded that she alight with him. 

She refused and Peh tried to pull her out from the vehicle.

Ms Tie, who was seated in front, then got out of the taxi to prevent Peh from pulling her friend out from the rear passenger seat, but to no avail.

Eventually Ms Teng also got out after paying the taxi fare and the driver drove off with some of their belongings.

Peh then charged at Ms Tie with his screwdriver. Although she was able to dodge it, she was unable to fend off the subsequent attacks to her face, back and upper body.

Peh also slapped, punched and kicked her.

Ms How and Ms Teng tried to intervene, but Peh responded by slapping Ms How in the face.

During the attack, Ms How was able to call her mother on her phone, which she handed to Peh.

While he stopped his assault on Ms How and Ms Tie at that point, he continued threatening them before he left the scene. The women then took a taxi to the Clementi Neighbourhood Police Centre to make a police report.

An ambulance then took Ms Tie to the National University Hospital. 

A medical examination found that she had sustained multiple injuries which included two permanent scars — one under her right eye, and another on her left elbow.

‘TIRED OF RUNNING’

For the assault, Peh was first charged in court on July 9 in 2010 and was scheduled for another court hearing on April 28 the following year. 

However, he did not show up and it was discovered that he had fled the country. A police gazette was issued for his arrest. 

Peh’s defence lawyers, Mr Josephus Tan and Mr Cory Wong of Invictus Law Corporation, said that their client had escaped to Thailand sometime in 2010 and 2011.

In his mitigation plea, they said that “he was tired of running” and decided to surrender himself to the Thai authorities. 

Peh had also paid Ms Tie S$5,560 as compensation, which included the cost of her laser treatments and fees for her medical bill.

The lawyers, who sought a jail term of not more than four months, said they hoped that this “demonstration of remorse” would somewhat negate the aggravating effect of Peh’s abscondment. 

They added that Peh and his Thai girlfriend have an infant son in Thailand who was born in January this year, and he regretted missing his birth due to his arrest.

Seeking the court’s compassion, the lawyers said that Peh had started a new life with his girlfriend and her family at a farm in Thailand, and he hopes to be able to return to be present for his son’s next birthday and to marry his girlfriend.

“(This is) why he decided to come back after so many years so as to set his formal record straight,” they said. 

“By this vein, we plead that Mr Peh is a changed man now with a low risk of re-offending. And after this case is concluded and once he is released, Mr Peh will therefore have the fresh slate that he seeks and a family waiting for him back in Thailand.” 

For voluntarily causing hurt with an instrument used as a weapon of offence and is likely to cause death, Peh could have been jailed up to seven years, or fined, or caned, or received any of these penalties.

Related topics

crime court assault Thailand abscond

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