A 53-year-old man was sentenced to 31 days in jail on 16 May 2025 after pouring superglue on a sleeping university student and stealing another student’s wallet in separate incidents aboard public buses.
Jimmy Wong Kok Chyn pleaded guilty to one charge of theft and another charge of using criminal force. An additional charge of theft involving a bottle of engine oil worth about S$13.50 was taken into consideration for his sentencing.
Man Pours Superglue on Sleeping Passenger’s Head on Bus 33
The superglue incident occurred on 19 Sep 2024 aboard SBS Bus Service 33 heading towards Bedok interchange.
The victim, a 29-year-old National University of Singapore student, had fallen asleep during the journey. Wong boarded the same bus along Clementi Road at about 1pm and sat directly behind him.
At approximately 1.50pm, while the bus traveled along Victoria Street, the victim suddenly woke up after feeling liquid flowing down the back of his head.
When confronted, Wong falsely claimed he had “dropped something” instead of admitting to his actions.
The victim discovered superglue had been poured over his head and shirt. He immediately informed the bus captain of the situation.
By this time, Wong had already alighted from the vehicle with other passengers.
The victim called the police and spent about 20 minutes trying to wash away the superglue without success. Due to the permanent nature of the adhesive, he was forced to cut his hair and throw away his stained shirt.
District Judge Paul Quan described the act as “bizarre to say the least” and “completely gratuitous.”
The judge noted that Wong was fortunate nothing worse happened to the victim, as the superglue could have affected his eyes or glued his eyelids together.
Wallet Theft
In a separate incident months earlier, Wong targeted another sleeping passenger on 15 Apr 2024.
An 18-year-old female student boarded bus 183 at Clementi MRT station at about 8.40pm. She was sitting on the upper deck with her bag slung to her side when she fell asleep.
Wong entered the same bus along Clementi Road approximately five minutes later and made his way to the upper deck where he found himself alone with the sleeping student.
At about 8.55pm, Wong removed a wallet from the victim’s bag before alighting from the bus about 15 minutes later.
The student later discovered her wallet was missing and filed a police report.
During police investigations, Wong returned the wallet to her residence on 2 Jun 2024.
Judge Quan pointed out that the theft of her wallet, which contained her NRIC and student pass, would have caused “great inconvenience” to her.
The court learned that Wong committed the wallet theft on the last day of a 16-day remission period for a previous theft offense, thus breaching his conditional remission order.
The judge added an enhanced sentence of one day in prison to account for this breach.
In his mitigation, Wong stated: “I have nothing to say but I know what I did is all wrong. Please forgive me again, thank you.”
Judge Quan determined that Wong’s rehabilitative prospects were “decidedly low” and warned him that punishment would be more severe if he reoffended.
Wong was arrested on 15 Apr and released from jail on 16 May, as his sentence was backdated.
The maximum punishment for theft is up to three years in prison, a fine, or both.
For using criminal force, the maximum penalty is up to three months in prison, a fine of up to S$1,500, or both.
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