Man Who’s Spotted for Removing His Shorts Inside a Closed Shop Gets Jailtime

Singapore has certainly had its fair share of strange individuals. 

Take this recent case, for instance.

Just last October, we saw an incident involving a woman who gained fame for propping her feet up on the seats of an SBS bus. 

She confidently elevated her sock-clad feet, and when confronted by the bus captain, her reaction was anything but ordinary.

Surprisingly, this woman found herself in police custody due to her actions, even though what she did didn’t seem to directly harm or hurt anyone.

It becomes pretty clear that Singapore takes the cake when it comes to arresting people for seriously wacky reasons. If there were a list of countries arresting folks for the most bizarre reasons, Singapore would be right up at the top.

Who’s the next target? Believe it or not, it’s an uncle who had an itch near his private areas.

No kidding.

Man Removed His Shorts to Scratch His Private Parts

On Wednesday (22 November 2023), a man named Ng Beng Heng, 42, was sentenced to 11 weeks in jail. 

He pleaded guilty to the rather unusual charges of appearing nude in public and committing mischief.

So, what exactly did he do to land in such a situation?

It all started with a common human experience—an itch near his private areas. Let’s face it; it’s something most of us have encountered at some point in our lives. 

But what sets us apart is our understanding of when and where to address such discomfort. We know not to scratch it in public or when surrounded by a swarm of folks.

It appears that Ng couldn’t resist the urge to scratch that itch as he sat outside a closed shop in public view. 

He went so far as to pull down his shorts to tend to the itch, making it a spectacle for anyone passing by.

Arrested But Released on Bail The Following Day

During sentencing, the court also considered two additional charges of a similar nature.

On the evening of 5 July 2023, Ng was sitting outside a closed massage shop located at Block 11 Chai Chee Road when he committed the offence.

According to CNA, investigations unveiled that while engaged in the act of scratching his crotch with his shorts removed, Ng was aware that he had exposed himself to the public eye.

This awkward situation didn’t go unnoticed, as a passer-by witnessed Ng’s actions, which prompted them to promptly call the police. 

Ng was arrested on the very same day for the charge of appearing nude in a public area and was subsequently released on bail the next day.

Caused Damage in Public Toilet

If you thought Ng would lay low after being bailed out, think again.

Not even two months later, Ng was involved in another rather peculiar situation at Heartbeat@Bedok. 

He was in the bathroom, and out of the blue, he started shouting in Mandarin.

Mr Sanjay Chandran, the on-duty security officer, went over to check out what the commotion was all about. That’s when he found Ng yelling away but couldn’t quite make out what he was on about.

Mr Sanjay told Ng to stop shouting and leave the bathroom, but Ng kept shouting. Eventually, Mr Sanjay called on his supervisor.

While waiting for the supervisor to arrive, Ng went full Hulk mode on the urinal partition, throwing punches using his left hand like he was in a boxing match. 

Four punches later and the partition was dislodged.

During the investigation, Ng admitted that he had punched the urinal partition on purpose, with the intent of causing some serious damage. That landed him right back in the arms of the police, and he was arrested on the very same day.

In his plea for leniency, Ng told the court he wanted to be released soon. 

But his reason for wanting to get out? He had three hungry fish at home who hadn’t seen a meal in a while. Priorities, right?

Even several users on a Reddit thread have been quick to point it out as a joke.

Penalties 

Do you know that it’s against the law to be naked at home? If you’re spotted, that is.

If you get caught in the buff, and someone reports you, you could find yourself facing a fine of $2,000, a potential three-month jail stint, or even both.

If Ng had been convicted for appearing nude in a public setting, he could have potentially faced a prison sentence of up to three months or a fine of up to S$2,000, or even both.

As for committing mischief, he could have faced a penalty of up to two years behind bars, a substantial fine, or both.