Teen admits hitting cop while trying to escape on e-scooter
A teen pleaded guilty yesterday to colliding into a police officer while trying to escape on his e-scooter.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named as he is under 18, also pleaded guilty to stealing a van, driving without a licence and stealing CashCards and a credit card that he used to add funds on gaming platform Steam.
Another 11 charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing later.
At about 8.15pm on Aug 6, 2018, the police were called about a group of boys speeding on e-scooters around Bukit Batok West Avenue 8.
Two officers arrived and saw the accused and his friends on their e-scooters.
When one of the officers raised his hand to get them to stop, the group tried to escape.
The teen collided into the officer and both fell. The officer suffered abrasions and bruising to his limbs and was given a day of sick leave.
The youth was initially given a one-year conditional stern warning on March 12, 2019, for causing hurt by rash act, but he reoffended.
From Feb 19 to May 24, he stole a total of 68 CashCards with a value of more than $1,300 from carparks in Bukit Batok.
He refunded the money in the cards to his own bank account.
On May 4, he and another friend also stole a credit card from a motorcycle and used it to add about $260 worth of funds to his Steam gaming account.
On May 9, the duo stole a van in Bukit Batok and took turns driving around Choa Chu Kang.
They had spotted the vehicle with its keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked.
The friend lost control of the van and hit the carpark walls.
The owner made a report that morning when she found her vehicle damaged and parked in a different lot. Her CashCard was also missing.
Yesterday, the teen told the court that the officer he had collided into had jumped into his path. The prosecution did not dispute this.
District Judge Seah Chi-Ling called for reports to determine the youth's suitability for probation and reformative training.
The teen has been remanded and is expected to be back in court next Tuesday.
For causing hurt by rash act, offenders can be jailed for up to a year, or fined up to $5,000, or both.
For theft of a motor vehicle, offenders can be jailed for up to seven years and may also be fined.
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