Court 48

I was in Court 48. Why am I there? Not important la.

But what did I observe?
It was a busy afternoon with many people accused of offences under URA, HDB and ACRA.

There was this guy who is accused of 20 counts of illegal hawking. So he owes HDB/URA for fines outstanding.

A court officer explained the charges to him. The lady judge then proceeded to explain to him his options. The judge said she could grant an extension for him to plead and pay HDB/URA subject to someone bailing him out.

The man said he wanted to plead guilty. The judge patiently explained to him that by pleading guilty to the charges, it does not void the need to pay the fines.

He insisted that he wanted to plead guilty and he couldn't find anyone to bail him out. The judge subsequently delivered the sentence. After a few moment of punching her calculator, the man is liable to pay the Court $500 per count of illegal hawking or go to jail. This is in addition to the owings to HDB/URA.

I am puzzled by the man's strategy. Perhaps he is the fall guy who is ready to go bankrupt after jail term to avoid paying the outstanding fines.

Sad. He will be in prison while the rest of us celebrate Christmas.

P/S - Some info garbled to protect the identities.