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SINGAPORE – While working as a Foodpanda deliveryman, a man texted colleagues in two chat groups, gathering personal mobility device (PMD) users to gather in Punggol Park, arm themselves with guns, and injure others.
Benny Mok Swee Tian committed the crime on December 30 last year, following the announcement by the Land Transportation Authority (LTA) that it bans electric scooters on sidewalks.
The 35-year-old Singaporean was sentenced on Friday (October 30) to eight weeks in jail and a $ 500 fine.
He had previously pleaded guilty to creating an electronic record containing an incitement to commit violence and an unrelated theft charge involving five comic books worth nearly $ 37 in total.
The court heard that Mok, who went on to become a social media marketing executive, had sent the messages a day before the end of the advisory period that LTA gave electric scooter users.
The warning period, between November 5 and December 31 of last year, was for electric scooter users to comply with the new rule.
Deputy Prosecutor Chong Yong said the first chat group had more than 2,000 members and the second more than 4,000.
One of Mok’s colleagues saw the offender’s message at 3.09pm in a group chat. In it, Mok proposed a “PMD riot” in Punggol Park that would take place at 9 pm on December 31 of last year.
Someone later referred him to the other group, the court heard.
Mok, who was a member of both chat groups, responded at 3:22 p.m. by saying, “Bring parang. Look (people) just punch and cut.”
The colleague then alerted the police, as he was concerned that the messages could incite violence.
After an investigation, officers arrested Mok at the Hougang Mall loading and unloading bay.
DPP Chong said that police resources were deployed in Punggol Park on December 31 last year, but there were no violent incidents related to the messages that day.
In the other incident, the court heard that Mok stole five comic books from Books Kinokuniya at the Ngee Ann City Mall on August 22 last year.
He was captured after a security officer saw him behaving suspiciously in the store.
On Friday, defense attorney James Ow Yong told the court that his client is a “naive individual” who did not realize the seriousness of his messages.
For making an electronic record containing incitement to violence, Mok could have been jailed for up to five years and fined.
Criminals convicted of theft can be imprisoned for up to three years and fined.
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