SINGAPORE, July 3 — A 30-year-old man who possessed a stun device that looked like an Apple iPhone, and could inflict pain and shock, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Arms and Explosives Act yesterday.
Alexander Aw Boon Hao, a Singaporean, bought the device for S$20 on online shopping portal Wish because he wanted to protect himself from his enemies, the court heard.
However, when police officers found the item — which seemed too light to be a real mobile phone — in his possession on Nov 26 last year, he lied and claimed that it was a signal jammer, although he could not explain why he would need to block transmission.
Aw admitted that it was a stun device only after the officers tested it on the spot and saw that it produced a crackling sound with a light spark when operated.
The officers found the device in his sling bag when attending to a 999 call made by Aw’s then-girlfriend, who complained that somebody had hit her.
Shortly before she made the call, Aw wielded the stun device at her when they got into a scuffle during an argument in a taxi and then told her to keep quiet.
When the officers arrived at their doorstep, the girlfriend told them about the stun device and stated that she had been puzzled as to why he had to carry two phones around.
The girlfriend, who works in a coffee shop, also told the officers that she had spoken to a customer about this and the customer told her to be careful as it might be a stun device.
Investigations later revealed that after Aw bought the product online, he had even tested the device on himself and felt pain and suffered bruises as a result.
He would take the device with him when he went out, although he knew that it was unlawful. Court documents did not specify who his enemies were.
The stun device was a “stun gun” within the meaning of the Arms and Explosive Act.
The court heard yesterday that Aw had been sentenced to seven years’ jail and six strokes of the cane in March 2015.
This was after he pleaded guilty to raping and poisoning a Malaysian woman who used to be his girlfriend, based on a news report at the time. Three other charges, of attempting to strangle and suffocate her, hurting her with a knife and attempted suicide, were taken into consideration at that time.
Aw will return to court on July 9 to be sentenced. He remains out on S$5,000 bail.
He could be jailed for up to three years and fined up to S$5,000 for having in his possession arms without authorisation under any licence issued by a licensing officer. — TODAY
