10 months' jail for trio who assaulted policeman at St James Power Station

The trio who assaulted a plainclothes policeman on duty at a St James Power Station club in 2017 were each sentenced to 10 months' jail on Wednesday (June 3).

One of them, Lim Yang Horng, 25, was also fined $2,500 for verbally abusing the officer, Sergeant Tan You Chuen, with vulgar language.

Lim and the other two - Coretta Leong Yin Teng, 26, and Marcus Goh Jun Fong, 25 - were convicted in April after a trial.

The trio were at the Envy Dance Club in the morning of Nov 12, 2017, when the police were alerted to a fight that had broken out on the dance floor.

Sgt Tan and his colleagues arrived at the scene at around 4am.

The policeman testified earlier in court that he asked the trio about the fight and told them to leave the club immediately if they were not involved in the brawl.

He said that he heard somebody utter an expletive directed at the police as he was walking away.

When he turned around to ask the group about what had been said, Lim responded by hurling vulgar words at him.

Lim then threw a punch at Sgt Tan, and a scuffle ensued between the two men.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Houston Johannus said in his written submissions that Goh and Leong then joined in the assault, with Goh punching Sgt Tan's face at least once and Leong forcefully grabbing the officer's neck.

The altercation stopped when the club's bouncers and one of Sgt Tan's colleagues shone their torches at the offenders.

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Sgt Tan, who went to Alexandra Hospital later that morning, was found to have a head injury and given two days of medical leave.

In their earlier submissions, lawyers for Leong and Goh said their clients were trying to break up the fight between Sgt Tan and Lim.

The lawyers added that Leong did not know that Sgt Tan was a policeman, while Goh did not punch him.

Lim's lawyer Evan Teo said his client was also unaware that Sgt Tan was a policeman.

The trio are appealing against their conviction and sentence.

For assaulting a police officer, offenders can be jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned. Leong cannot be caned, as she is a woman.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.