A 63-year-old man has been charged for trespassing into an army training ground at Lim Chu Kang.

According to statement of facts seen by Mothership, Ng Kiong Hoe was asked to accompany a friend, Cheng Lee Meng, into Track 9 training ground at Ama Keng Road on Sep. 9 last year.

How and where did it happen?

61-year-old Cheng drove a van to the padlocked gate at Ama Keng Road at around 2:45pm, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

Cheng passed Ng a key and told him to open the gate.

After Cheng entered the grounds in the van, Ng began closing the gate. The pair were then caught in the act by 2nd Warrant Officer Johan Kassim, who also detained them. 

The officer asked Ng what he was doing in the area, but Ng did not respond. The pair were arrested by the police thereafter.

During the investigation, Ng claimed to have trespassed into the SAF training ground to pick pandan leaves.

The verdict

The Deputy Public Prosecutor had sought a fine. During mitigation, however, Ng stated that he was working as a plate-collector at a coffee shop, and did not have much work due to the dining-out restrictions, Yahoo News reported.

On Monday (Aug. 2), Ng was found guilty of entering a protected area without authorisation and was fined S$2,000. 

For the offence of entering a protected area without authorisation, Ng could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$20,000, or both.

Cheng has disputed the charges made against him, and will return to court on August 19. 

Top image via Flickr & Mokkie/Creative Commons