26 Boys' Home youths charged with unlawful assembly
The 26 Singapore Boys' Home (SBH) residents who were arrested for unlawful assembly last week have been charged in court.
Twelve of them were charged with unlawful assembly in the State Courts last week, while the other 14 were charged on Monday in the Youth Court, which deals with offenders below 16 years old.
The New Paper reported last week the 26 SBH residents were arrested after causing a ruckus at the home last Monday night.
THE NEW PAPER, SEP 21
The SBH is a juvenile residential home in Jurong run by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
It houses at-risk young people aged between 12 and 21, who might also have got into trouble with the law.
No one was injured in the incident.
Yesterday, the 12 made their second appearance at the State Courts.
They are: Praveen Nivash Velmurugan, 16, Muhamed Hafez Fizzly Roslan, 17, Syuaib Shahfudin Mahendran, 16, Mohammad Rizaifie Mohamad Rizal, 17, Mohd Aslam Khan Abdullah, 16, Mohamad Kamal Azaman, 16, Muhamad Nur Iskandar Shariff, 18, Png Yang Kwang, 17, Mohamad Hairy Hassan, 18, Marche Loke Teck Jun, 17, Chan Zi Yang, 16, and Muhammad Amiruddin Sabtu, 18.
DAMAGE
They are accused of damaging bed frames and smashing fluorescent lamps belonging to the home.
Court documents did not state the motives for their unlawful assembly.
No plea was taken yesterday and the 12 were ordered to be remanded at Changi Prison Complex Cluster B for further investigation.
No bail was offered and they were not allowed to speak to their family members as investigations were ongoing.
The accused are expected to be back in court on Oct 18 for a pre-trial conference, except for Praveen, whose case is scheduled for Oct 3.
If convicted of unlawful assembly, each person can be jailed up to two years with a fine.
Last year, there were 215 boys admitted to the Home.
According to the MSF's website, they go through structured routines and programmes such as academic or vocational training, recreational activities and community service.
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