Man locked up salesman's dad, domestic helper in Toa Payoh flat
A salesman had taken a loan from Chris Ng Sze How's girlfriend but became uncontactable after agreeing to pay up.
So Ng, 40, went to Mr Chow Yeow Hui's home in Toa Payoh to padlock the flat to force him to show up.
But Mr Chow, 30, was not home.
Ng then locked up Mr Chow's 70-year-old wheelchair-bound father and domestic helper in the flat for seven hours instead.
Pleading guilty to one count of wrongful confinement yesterday, Ng was jailed for six weeks.
Ng had gone to Mr Chow's flat at about 2am on Sept 22 with a chain and padlock. It is not clear how much money Mr Chow owed.
Ng, a private-hire driver then, spoke to Indonesian domestic helper Indrawati, 39, who told him Mr Chow was not home.
She tried calling Mr Chow, but he did not pick up.
CHAIN
Despite knowing that Ms Indrawati and Mr Chow's father were inside the flat, Ng used the chain and padlock to lock the main gate, preventing them from leaving.
He told Ms Indrawati to call Mr Chow if they wanted to be freed and left the scene.
It was only at about 7.30am that she managed to contact Mr Chow, who called the police at about 7.50am.
Officers later arrived at the flat and cut open the padlock.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee asked for six weeks' jail, noting the ordeal left Ms Indrawati in a state of shock.
He added that Ng's offence was premeditated and similar to that of loanshark harassment.
Unrepresented in court, Ng said in mitigation that Mr Chow was a scammer and had been evading him and his girlfriend for more than a year.
But before handing down the sentence, District Judge Carol Ling Feng Yong told Ng that two wrongs did not make a right.
For wrongful confinement, Ng could have been jailed for up to a year, fined up to $3,000, or both.
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