‘This is a final chance given to you’: Judge told teen involved in ITE bread knife attack, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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‘This is a final chance given to you’: Judge told teen involved in ITE bread knife attack

This article is more than 12 months old

The parents of a former Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College East student who had committed several offences were told to stand before the judge at the State Courts yesterday.

Their son, 18, had been convicted of providing a bread knife to a school friend, who used it to slash another student.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to a total of 27 months' probation, including six months of intensive probation with a curfew in place for aiding his friend to voluntarily cause hurt to the victim and for being part of a robbery attempt in 2019.

District Judge May Mesenas called his parents to stand before her as this was their second son on probation. The offences of the other son were not stated in court. She wanted to know if the parents were able to cope with supervising him.

The teenager cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act as he was 17 at the time of the attempted robbery.

Addressing his parents, the judge said: "You have quite a handful with two children on probation. You have to supervise and monitor the type of friends he makes.

"If there are any breaches, he has to bear the consequences, so you have to monitor this."

The parents told the judge they would comply.

Judge Mesenas scolded the teenager, saying: "You have committed a very serious offence. Whatever studies you undertake, if you don't comply to these measures, they will mean nothing.

"Whatever your friends tell you, you need to make your own choice. This is a final chance given to you."

He was asked if he was willing to comply, and he said that he was.

On Feb 16, he brought a bread knife to school on the urging of his friend, Palanidas Ramadas, 19, who told him the day before that one of his friends had problems there.

Palanidas, 19, told the accused he no longer needed the knife as his friend had settled his issues. But he later received the knife from the teenager when he met the victim, 20, at the basement carpark of the school for a talk at around noon.

Palanidas slashed him multiple times, injuring his left shoulder and left ear. The victim escaped and was treated in hospital.

The Straits Times understands both teenagers are no longer ITE students, and the case involving Palanidas is pending.

Defence lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong urged the judge for probation instead of sending the teen to the reformative training centre (RTC), where he could be surrounded by negative influences. The lawyers from Invictus Law Corporation added that he has ceased contact with his peers.

ITECOURT & CRIME