The Girl Who Hired Hitmen To Kill Her Parents

Bich Ha and Huei Hann Pan were both refugees who moved from Vietnam to Canada in search of a better life.

They met in their new home country, married and had two children – Jennifer in 1986 and Felix three years later.

Madam Ha and Mr Pan were labourers at an auto parts manufacturer, reported The Washington Post.

The duo worked hard to provide for the family and pushed their children to excel in school.

Frivolous events like parties or school dances were a big no-no in the Pan household.

And by all accounts and appearances, Jennifer was their "golden" child: A straight 'A's student who bagged a scholarship and got into a prestigious programme at a university.

Except these achievements were just part of a meticulously woven web of lies.

Jailed for life

Jennifer was a talented pianist who won multiple trophies at a young age, reported Toronto Life. But her secondary school grades were just average.

She never attended university, let alone obtained a scholarship.

In 2010, she and her boyfriend hired hitmen to kill her parents.

She was jailed for life earlier this year for the murder of her mother and the attempted murder of her father.

Her father and brother requested that she never speak to them again. The request was granted by the court.

Last week, Jennifer's former schoolmate Karen K. Ho gave an insight into her teenage years in a piece entitled "Jennifer Pan’s Revenge: the inside story of a golden child, the killers she hired, and the parents she wanted dead".

Ms Ho wrote: "The more I learned about Jennifer’s strict upbringing, the more I could relate to her. I grew up with immigrant parents who also came to Canada from Asia (in their case Hong Kong) with almost nothing, and a father who demanded a lot from me."

She added: "I felt like a hamster on a wheel, sprinting to meet some sort of expectation, solely determined by him, that was always just out of reach."

This is Jennifer's Story

Source: The New Paper

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Man, 26, Allegedly Sexually Abused 10 Young Boys

For about two years, he allegedly preyed on at least 10 boys, aged between 10 and 15, to fulfil his sexual desires.

He allegedly made two of them perform oral sex on him and instructed others to take lewd videos and/or photographs of themselves and send them to his mobile phone.

Goh Jun Guan, 26, faces 30 charges, which include various sexual offences, transmitting obscene videos and photographs, and possessing three obscene films in his mobile phone. He also allegedly filmed himself masturbating and sent the obscene videos to some of his victims.

According to court papers, Goh allegedly began sexually abusing the boys in 2012.

Most of the alleged offences took place over the next two years in the western part of Singapore.

In mid-2012, he allegedly performed oral sex on a boy, who was under 14 at the time, in a HDB flat in the west.

He allegedly did the same on two other occasions. He also allegedly made the boy perform oral sex on him twice. All these offences happened in 2013 in the toilets of shopping malls.

In December 2013, he allegedly performed oral sex on a 10-year-old boy, who is believed to be his youngest victim, in the same HDB flat.

Goh is also accused of touching the private parts of three other boys.

He allegedly touched and kissed one victim, a 14-year-old boy, in a public library toilet in 2012.

He also allegedly touched a 12-year-old boy in the library in 2013.

PHOTO

In a separate incident, he made that same boy take a photo of his own private parts and send the photo to his mobile phone.

Goh is expected to be back in court on Aug 3 for a pre-trial conference.

The maximum penalties for the various charges range from a $1,500 fine and/or a jail term of up to six months for possessing three obscene videos, and up to 20 years with possible fine and caning for making each boy perform oral sex on him.

Source: The New Paper

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Straight A Student Commits Suicide Over 2 Bs For O-level Results, Mum Takes Her Own Life Months Later

She is still coming to terms with the devastating death of her teenage granddaughter, who committed suicide over scoring two Bs in her O levels.

Then, three months after the 16-year-old plunged to her death, Madam Ng Siang Mui's grief-stricken and guilt-ridden daughter, who was the teen's mother, also killed herself.

The tragic double deaths has left her son-in-law, who is the teen's father, mentally unstable.

Fortunately, more children and teenagers have been seeking help for suicidal thoughts, said the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS).

In an interview with The New Paper, Madam Ng, 71, shared the devastation and anguish of the triple tragedy that began in January this year.

She was reluctant to speak at first, noting that the death had torn the family apart.

Madam Ng initially said: "Talking to you now is useless. My daughter is dead. My granddaughter is dead."

She changed her mind later because she hoped that sharing their story could help highlight early intervention and save more lives.

Madam Ng said that in January, just three hours after getting her results slip, her granddaughter jumped to her death.

Except for two Bs - in English and Mathematics - the student had scored distinctions for her other subjects.

The only child left a note for her parents: "Mum, I am sorry for being a disappointment. I should have done better.

"Dad, I am sorry you will not have the chance to walk me down the (church) aisle to give me away."

The child's parents used to fight over their daughter's education. The girl had been a straight-As student who attended a top school.

The mum wanted to push her to excel and her dad felt that the child should be left alone.

"My Xiao Mei (her granddaughter's nickname) was always affected whenever her parents fought over her studies," Madam Ng said in Khek.

At Madam Ng's request, we are not naming the parents or their child.

Madam Ng said: "My son-in-law felt very sorry for his daughter. He used to approach me to help him talk to my daughter, to ask her not to push Xiao Mei too hard. He felt that they should let Xiao Mei be, as she was a good girl.

"Whenever I tried to broach the issue with my daughter, she'd get angry and tell me not to interfere with the way she wanted to bring her child up.

"She often compared Xiao Mei's results with those of her friends' children and would ask, 'How come so and so can do this and you cannot?'"

Xiao Mei's mother wanted her to get into medical school.

A family friend, Mrs Lynn Wee, 45, a housewife, spoke of how she and three other close friends had tried to keep watch over Xiao Mei's mother after the funeral.

Mrs Wee said: "She maintained a stoic front and even admitted that she would have been disappointed with her child's academic performance."

But that facade slowly slipped in the weeks that followed, said Madam Ng, who has three grandsons from two other children.

Madam Ng said that a month after Xiao Mei's death, her father moved out.

"That broke my daughter's heart. I think it was then that she, too, gave up living.

"When Xiao Mei died, I didn't just lose one child. Her mother, my own daughter, killed herself three months later."

Madam Ng recalled the conversation she had with her daughter a day before she killed herself.

"She told me, 'Ma, I shouldn't have pressurised Xiao Mei in her studies. You didn't do that to us when we were young and we all turned out fine'."

The New Paper understands that Xiao Mei's father is seeking psychiatric help.

Added Madam Ng: "If only we had noticed or realised that Xiao Mei was suffering, we could have asked for professional help and this tragedy would have been prevented."

When Xiao Mei died, I didn't just lose one child. Her mother, my own daughter, killed herself three months later.

- Madam Ng Siang Mui


Source: The New Paper

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Couple Jailed for Housing Prostitutes.

SINGAPORE - A jobless couple who let six prostitutes from Vietnam stay at their home then lived off their earnings were each jailed for a year on Friday.

Sim Boon Keong, 35, and Huynh Dieu Tu, 33, both each pleaded guilty to receiving the hookers into Singapore, harbouring them and living off their earnings.

The court heard that all six women - aged 19 to 27 - were told by friends back home that Huynh could act as their agent here.

Huynh told them via mobile phone application WeChat last year that she would meet them at the airport, take them to their lodging and arrange for their daily meals.

In return, the women would pay Huynh a fee ranging from $1,100 to $1,900, which would cover their return air tickets and a loan of $1,000.

She would also provide them lodging and meals at a rate of $20 per day.

The women worked at pubs located near Jalan Sultan as freelance hostesses. They would also solicit customers for sexual services at a rate between $200 and $600.

Police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department's Specialised Crime Branch raided Sim and Huynh's home at Block 41 Sims Drive last May, acting on a tip-off.

All six Vietnamese prostitutes were also arrested for offences under the Women's Charter.

In passing sentence, District Judge Mathew Joseph said their offences were "quite disturbing". He added: "It is in the public interest that the sentence imposed by the court be a deterrence to others who are like-minded, from what might seem like a lucrative business for prostitution activities in Singapore."

Article from: Straitstimes

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$101,000 Worth Of Drugs Seized at Marine Parade

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) arrested two men and seized drugs worth more than $101,000 during an operation on Wednesday (July 22).

CNB officers arrested a 25-year-old man in a unit at Marine Terrace, off Marine Parade Road.

The suspected drug trafficker was led to his motorcycle, which was parked nearby.

Officers searched the vehicle and found 560g of Ice (methamphetamine) in two bundles in a hidden compartment under the seat.

CNB officers later arrested the suspect's accomplice, a 28-year-old man, around Kallang Avenue.

Investigations into the drug trafficking activities of both men are ongoing. 

The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of methamphetamine trafficked exceeds 250g. 

That amount can feed the addiction of about 185 abusers for a week.

Article from: 

http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/drug-bust-101000-ice-seized-marine-parade#sthash.MMaY93Cz.dpuf

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Parang Case In Bedok, Man Arrested

A man who attacked a "friend" with a parang while chasing him to a hawker centre during a row was yesterday arrested by the police.

Witnesses talked about how the floor of the Bedok North hawker centre was "filled with blood" after a 25-year-old man known as Ridzwan had his left palm slashed.

Officers were called to the drama at around 5.20am and believe the attacker is a man in his 20s.

Ridzwan was still being treated in Changi General Hospital last night.

The suspect was arrested yesterday evening, and will be charged in court for causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon.

A taxi driver, who wanted to be known only as Mr Raja, said he was eating breakfast at the hawker centre when he saw the victim run in dripping with blood - at which point his attacker stopped pursuing him and fled.

"(Ridzwan) asked for a cloth to stop the bleeding," said 64-year-old Mr Raja. "The cut was so deep I could see the bone."

A hawker grabbed a cloth while Mr Raja went to fetch water from the toilet to wash the wound.

When he returned, Ridzwan had left with a friend.

A 64-year-old hawker living in the area, who wanted to be known only as Madam Siti, said her son had gone to buy cigarettes when he saw his injured friend at the hawker centre.

She said her son woke her and a neighbour and got them to call the police and an ambulance.

Her neighbour, Madam Aini, said: "(Siti's son) was banging on the door saying (Ridzwan) has been attacked."

The 61-year-old woke up and opened the door to see Ridzwan slumped against the wall in the corridor. "I saw him covered in blood," said the 61-year-old, also a hawker. " I thought he was going to die."

Both women also said Ridzwan was a "good boy" who loved to skateboard. And Madam Aini said Ridzwan used to work as a delivery boy for Pizza Hut, and was friends with the attacker.

Another neighbour, who declined to give her name, said she was going to work yesterday morning when she saw the two men arguing and fighting at an open space outside the hawker centre.

"I was shivering with fear," the 70-year-old cleaner said.

When Ridzwan ran towards the hawker centre, she said, his attacker shouted in Malay: "Don't run, don't run, you die."

There was a 200m-long trail of blood at the hawker centre.

"The whole floor was filled with blood," said a fruit juice hawker who wanted to be known only as Madam Gan.

The 50-year-old arrived to open her stall at about 5.45am, by which time the area had been cordoned off by the police.

"All I heard was someone got attacked," she said. "I was scared."

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Man Hurt In Slashing Incident In Bedok, Police Looking For Attacker

SINGAPORE - A young man ran to a Bedok North hawker centre after being slashed on Tuesday morning, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Police said they received a call on Tuesday at about 5.22am requesting for assistance at Block 538 on Bedok North Street 3.

They established that a case of "voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons" had occurred.

A 25-year-old man was conveyed conscious to Changi General Hospital, police said. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said that he had injuries on his left arm.

An eye-witness, who identified himself as Mr Raja, told The Straits Times that the victim stumbled into the hawker centre dripping blood, and shouted that he needed a cloth.

A hawker got a cloth from a nearby newspaper vendor and helped him stem the bleeding while Mr Raja went to get water from the toilet to help him wash the wound.

But the victim left before Mr Raja returned with the water.

The 64-year-old said the gash in the victim's palm was so deep he could see bone. According to Lianhe Wanbao, the man's little finger was almost detached.

Another witness told Shin Min Daily News that he came face to face with the attacker. The slim-built young man waved a knife at him and warned him not to go to the hawker centre as he had just slashed someone.

Police are looking for the assailant, and investigations are ongoing.

Source: The Straits Time

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