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Probation for special needs teen who wrecked properties at shops

SINGAPORE — Frustrated that he could not find his way to his appointments with a social worker and a counsellor, a teenager with a mild intellectual disability turned aggressive and took it out on strangers and things around him.

The aftermath of the damage caused by Lee Ming Zheng, who was subsequently detained by the police for wielding a weapon, at The Body Shop store at Bedok Mall on Dec 27, 2017.

The aftermath of the damage caused by Lee Ming Zheng, who was subsequently detained by the police for wielding a weapon, at The Body Shop store at Bedok Mall on Dec 27, 2017.

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SINGAPORE — Frustrated that he could not find his way to his appointments with a social worker and a counsellor, a teenager with a mild intellectual disability turned aggressive and took it out on strangers and things around him.

These included brandishing a pair of scissors at a girl and damaging the property of retailers — a few of them located at Bedok Mall

Having pleaded guilty to charges of mischief, causing public nuisance and criminal intimidation, 19-year-old Lee Ming Zheng was on Thursday (Feb 14) sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

Eight other similar charges were taken into consideration during his sentencing.

On the evening of Dec 27, 2017, Ming Zheng was on his way to Chai Chee to see a social worker but could not locate the correct street.

Upset that he could not find his way, he picked up a pair of scissors in the area and entered the nearby Bedok Mall. There, he shouted at shoppers and caused a commotion in at least two shops there with scissors in hand.

First was in The Body Shop, where he pushed and upset a display shelf containing skincare and beauty products, causing damage of more than S$2,000.

Then, in clothing store G2000, he pushed over a product-tag sensor, incurring S$350 in damages.

Months later, on May 17 last year, he was on his way to look for his counsellor at the PPIS Family Service Centre in Chai Chee when he lost his way again.

He then bought a pair of scissors from a shop, and used it to break the fire alarm activation panel at sporting goods store Decathlon in the area, triggering the alarm.

Five minutes later, he broke the activation panels of two more fire alarms at the Viva Business Park nearby.

After that, he headed to a McDonald’s outlet in Bedok Mall and pointed the scissors at a 13-year-old girl, shouting repeatedly, “Pay me back my money”.

Finally, he walked into optical shop W Optics in the mall and scratched the monitor of a refractometer, damaging it. The cost of repairs came to S$965.

CAUSED ‘TREMENDOUS DAMAGE’

At the hearing on Thursday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Sum said that the teen did what he did because he was feeling upset over the death of his grandmother who had died the year before.

District Judge May Mesenas evaluated whether it was appropriate enough for Ming Zheng, who has special needs, to be medically treated to deal with his outbursts, or if he should be subjected to a more severe probation order.

However, pointing out that the teen “caused tremendous damage” on various occasions and that no restitution had been made, she assessed that he might need a more structured setting for treatment to prevent him from reoffending.

“Just because you can’t get what you want, you start destroying things. That is not how to function,” she said to him.

“If you commit other offences, you will go to RTC (reformative training centre). It is like a prison for young persons like yourself.”

Telling him, too, that he will have to abide by his medical treatment “seriously” and take “significant and substantial steps” to rehabilitate himself, District Judge Mesenas sentenced him to an 18-month split probation — six months of intensive probation and 12 months of supervised probation.

She also ordered him to remain indoors from 9pm to 6am, unless his officers from the Probation Services Branch allowed him out.

By court order, Ming Zheng will have to undergo psychiatric treatment and comply with medication as needed.

The teen’s maternal uncle was ordered to pay a bond of S$5,000 to ensure his good behaviour during the probation period.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article and its headline described Lee Ming Zheng as having Down Syndrome. This is incorrect. He has a mild intellectual disability. We are sorry for the error.

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