Man jailed 4 months, fined for carrying iPhone-like stun device that he tested on himself

SINGAPORE — A 30-year-old man who possessed a stun device that looked like an Apple iPhone, which he bought to protect himself from his enemies, was sentenced to four months’ jail and a fine of S$3,000 on Friday (July 9).

Alexander Aw Boon Hao had pleaded guilty to one charge under the Arms and Explosives Act last week. 

Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun took into consideration another charge of voluntarily causing hurt to his girlfriend by pulling her hair for sentencing.

It was not Aw’s first brush with the law. The court previously heard that he was jailed seven years and given six strokes of the cane in 2015 after pleading guilty to raping and poisoning a Malaysian woman who used to be his girlfriend, based on a news report at the time.

Three other charges, of attempting to strangle and suffocate her, hurting her with a knife and attempted suicide, were taken into consideration at that time.

For his most recent case, the Singaporean man had bought the stun device for S$20 on online shopping portal Wish. 

Investigations later revealed that he had even tested the device on himself and felt pain and suffered bruises as a result.

He would carry it with him when he went out, although he knew that it was unlawful. The device is classified as a “stun gun” within the meaning of the Arms and Explosive Act.

When police officers found the item — which seemed too light to be a real mobile phone — in his possession on Nov 26 last year, he lied and claimed that it was a signal jammer.

Aw admitted that it was a stun device only after the officers tested it on the spot and saw that it produced a crackling sound with a light spark when operated.

The officers found the device in his sling bag when attending to a 999 call made by Aw’s then-girlfriend, who complained that somebody had hit her.

Shortly before she made the call, Aw wielded the stun device at her when they got into a scuffle during an argument in a taxi and then told her to keep quiet.

When the officers arrived at their doorstep, the girlfriend told them about the stun device and stated that she had been puzzled as to why he had to carry two phones around.

The girlfriend, who works in a coffee shop, also told the officers that she had spoken to a customer about this and the customer told her to be careful as it might be a stun device.

Court documents did not specify who his enemies were.

Aw could have been jailed for up to three years and fined up to S$5,000 for having in his possession arms without authorisation under any licence issued by a licensing officer.