SINGAPORE - Less than a week after President Tharman Shanmugaratnam officiated a ceremony reopening the Red Cross House, a drunk woman spray-painted its walls with a profanity before posing for photos with her boyfriend.
On Sept 12, Michelle Leong Yi Ling, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of mischief. Another charge of trespass will be taken into consideration for sentencing.
She had been drinking with her co-accused, Keith Ong Wei Han, 27, at Stickies, a bar in Dhoby Ghaut, in the early hours of Oct 8, 2023. The court was told they were dating at the time.
They left the bar after sharing half a bottle of vodka and walked about 110m to the Red Cross House at Penang Lane, which is the headquarters of the Singapore Red Cross.
At the time, the building, which was opened in 1961, had undergone refurbishment and was reopened on Oct 3, 2023, at a ceremony officiated by President Tharman.
The couple were captured by security cameras entering the premises at about 12.50am.
At about 1.50am, Leong used a can of black spray paint to leave a profanity and symbol on a pillar in Red Cross House. The couple also spray-painted other words on the walls.
Ong is alleged to have sprayed, among other things, “I’ll kill every1”.
The court was told Leong appeared satisfied with the vandalised wall, and the couple then posed for photos in a tight embrace.
The photos were retrieved from Leong’s phone and submitted as part of the evidence presented to the court.
The couple left Red Cross House at about 2.05am and returned to Ong’s home.
The vandalism was discovered by contractors at 8am, after which they repainted the walls and pillars to cover up the black paint.
On Sept 12, District Judge John Ng convicted Leong and called for a report to determine her suitability for probation.
She is expected to return to court for sentencing on Oct 24, and is currently out on $10,000 bail.
Ong, whose case is still before the courts, also faces similar charges of mischief and trespass, and faces another charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a man in a separate incident.
For mischief, Leong can be jailed for up to two years and fined.
