Singapore—A Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, then 17 years old, was accused of robbing a woman at knifepoint in Lengkong Tiga last year.
He was able to get $40 from her during the robbery.
The incident occurred at about 1 am on Oct 3, 2020, at a Lengkong Tiga block of flats near Jalan Kembangan, The Straits Times (ST) says.
Because he was under the age of 18 when he committed the offence, the student’s name has not been published. This is due to the Children and Young Persons Act.
According to Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the student still attends school there.
“We take a zero-tolerance approach towards any acts of misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary actions against students found guilty of breaching our student code of conduct to ensure a safe and conducive environment for our school community.
“We have extended counselling support to the student and are unable to comment further as the case is before the courts,” a representative of the school told ST.
The student, who is said to have put his robbery victim “in fear of death”, was charged with committing armed robbery earlier this year.
His case will be heard again on Apr 21, with his bail set at $15,000.
The student faces up to 14 years’ jail as well as at least 12 strokes of the cane for the offence of committing armed robbery between 7 pm and 7 pm.
This is the second time in less than a month that Ngee Ann Polytechnic has been in the news.
On Mar 23, video footage of students allegedly from the school peeing on other students sparked widespread outrage, with many stepping up to share similar stories.
A video post of the incident on Instagram page @ginasofsg on Mar 22 went viral on social media. The post, which was taken down, alleged that there had been a hazing session involving Ngee Ann Polytechnic students.
Some of the students involved are reported to have been from the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Students’ Union (NPSU).
Shortly after the videos circulated online, one of the students allegedly urinated on spoke up to note that the stunt was consensual.
“I would like to clarify that yes, I am the one who got peed on. But the comments section really went ham on the imagination,” noted the individual in an Instagram story. In response to allegations of bullying, the student said, “Nah, bro. I was cool with it, just mindless fun for me!”
The individual also requested the public to “chill” and said that some of his friends were getting “blasted on media.”
After the video went viral, the police said they were investigating a suspected hazing ritual involving students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
/TISG
Read also: Police investigating Ngee Ann Poly hazing ritual