20Y/O Man Admits to Repeatedly Breaking Into GV Cinema Halls to Watch Movies & Scratching Employees

By
Sarah
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Perhaps being cooped up at home during the Circuit Breaker had left us stir-crazy, having no chance to watch movies in a theatre. After all, it’s not like most of us have a cinema in our house.

No huge screen, no Dolby surround sound, no sweet popcorn (yes, it’s infinitely superior to salty popcorn). How sad.

But I don’t think any of us have tried to sneak into cinemas for free… unless?

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Trespassed Multiple Times over Several Months

A 20-year-old Singaporean man, Joshua Wong Wei Jun, has been charged with criminal trespass and voluntarily causing hurt on Monday (15 Mar). Another five charges for trespassing, causing hurt, and refusing to give a blood sample will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

The young man had trespassed into Golden Village (GV) cinema halls five times to watch films without buying tickets, according to TODAYonline.

He even scratched a GV staff member on his face and hands after he was caught sneaking between cinema halls.

Scuffle at Junction 8 GV Outlet

On 16 October 2020, the staff member, Mr Chai, saw Wong leave a cinema hall at around 8:15pm. He remembered that Mr Wong had entered the theatre without a valid ticket.

Mr Chai then approached him to ask for the ticket, which he could not present and instead said that he left it in the hall. Mr Chai then told Mr Wong that he would be taken to see the manager, to which he fled the scene.

Mr Chai chased after him and tried to restrain him but was scratched on his face and hands. The security guards later intervened.

Mr Wong was later arrested. He admitted that he had illegally entered the theatre and watched two to four movies in different halls. He left each one midway to avoid being caught since GV staff would stand at the entrance whenever a movie ended.

When taken to the Central Police Division, he refused to let his blood sample be taken.

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TODAYonline noted that court documents did not give more information on the purpose of the blood sample or whether he was then released on bail.

Trespassed Four Times at Jurong Point GV Outlet

Despite being arrested once, Mr Wong continued to sneak into more movie theatres. Between January and February 2021, he illegally entered Jurong Point GV’s cinema halls four times.

He was again caught by another GV staff when exiting the hall. On 11 February, he saw a staff member when he was standing near the exit. He then took the staircase down in the direction of the exit but came back up a few minutes after.

The aforementioned staff member, Ms Liu Jieqi, tried to make him leave through the staircase but he insisted on leaving through the entrance, giving the excuse of needing the toilet.

She also recalled that he had trespassed before and had not entered with a valid ticket, just like that time in Junction 8.

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Ms Liu then tried to take him to the manager’s office to detain him but as no one was around, she took him to the counter where she could seek help from her colleagues.

Mr Wong then broke free and fled. He also left a scratch on her wrist.

Closed-circuit television footage from the mall captured Mr Wong trespassing by entering through a back door on the first level, which was linked to the staircase that led to the cinema hall.

Mr Wong’s Sentencing

District Judge May Mesenas had called for reports to assess the man’s suitability for probation, a mandatory treatment order or a day reporting order.

Mr Wong will be returning to court on 5 April 2021.

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For criminal trespass, he could be jailed up to three months or fined up to S$1,500, or both.

For voluntarily causing hurt, he faces up to three years’ jail or a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.

Feature Image: withGod / Shutterstock.com

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Sarah
Email: [email protected]