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Monk's ex-aide fined
Sep 23, 2008
He had more than 110 obscene films in two apartments.
By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent
A FORMER aide to Buddhist monk Shih Ming Yi was fined a total of $37,500 on Tuesday for having obscene films.
Pang Leong Chuan, 27, a student, pleaded guilty to three charges under the Films Act. He had 84 obscene films at an upmarket condominium at The Cornwall at Cornwall Gardens, and 29 obscene films at his Tampines Street 32 home on Feb 18, 2008.
A party of Commercial Affairs Department officers raided the District 10 condominium and found Pang in a room and seized his laptop, two magazines and several DVDs and VCDs.
He admitted that the items, believed to be obscene or contain obscene materials, belonged to him.
More items were seized when officers went to his flat the same day.
Ming Yi, 46, former chief executive of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre, is one of five listed owners of the apartment in The Cornwall.
The other owners included the Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery, where Ming Yi was the abbot.
Pang had three other charges considered during sentencing by District Judge James Leong.
His lawyer, Madam Rosina Lau, said her client, a first offender, was truly remorseful for his act of folly, and regretted hurting and causing distress to those who loved him.
She said Pang planned to continue with his studies after the trial and be a law-abiding citizen.
After the fines were paid, Pang donned a cap, shades and a jacket over his white long-sleeve shirt and black pants before leaving the Subordinate Courts.
Meanwhile, Ming Yi's bail was upped by another $150,000 to $350,000 on Monday after the court granted him permission to leave jurisdiction.
His 10 charges under the Charities Act and Penal Code will come up for further pre-trial hearing on Oct 9.
Via Singapore locks up U.S. man for possessing porn - Democratic Underground
"Singapore police handcuffed and locked up a U.S. citizen for bringing 58 pornographic DVDs and video CDs into the wealthy city-state when he moved to Singapore last year, a newspaper reported Thursday.
The Straits Times said Singapore state prosecutors had dropped charges of possessing uncertified and obscene films against Tran Nghia Hong after he presented them with a declaration by his brother, stating that he was missing "certain DVDs."
The films, found by Singapore customs officers in a shipment of his belongings from California, included titles such as "Frivolous Lola," "Copulation Nation" and "Lord of the Strings."
"I was handcuffed and put in a lock-up for four hours after I was charged," the report quoted Tran, 35, as saying.
Tran, a financial controller at U.S. Internet equipment maker Cisco Systems, could have been fined up to S$500 for each disc, up to a maximum of S$20,000, or up to six months in prison, or both.
Despite efforts to loosen some of its social controls, many tough rules remain in Singapore. "Playboy" magazine is banned, while oral sex remains technically illegal under a law that says "whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animals" can be fined and jailed up to 10 years, or even for life.
In recent years, Singapore has partially relaxed its famous ban on chewing gum, allowed some bars to stay open for 24 hours and ended a ban on the popular U.S. sitcom "Sex and the City." "