SINGAPORE - A man pretended to be a Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer to get some strangers to give him cigarettes. When they refused to believe him or show him their identification, he slapped one of them.
Muhammad Farmi Sudin, 27, was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail and fined $4,000 on Thursday for a range of offences, including the slap and the bid to impersonate a public servant.
A court heard that Farmi, who works on contract as a mover, had been at an East Coast Park chalet with two friends on May 4, 2014.
At about 5am, he and his friends, Eunice Ng, 19, and Muhammad Taufiq Djumadi, 26, had gone out to buy cigarettes, but found the shops closed.
On the way back, they noticed four men lying at a shelter and on benches near a barbecue pit.
Farmi approached one of the group, Mr Ramachandran Anandan, as the 28-year-old was the only one awake at the time. He told him that he was a CNB officer and asked to see his identification card.
When Mr Ramachandran refused to hand it over, wanting to see Farmi's ID instead, Farmi slapped him on his left cheek.
When the commotion woke the others up, Farmi ordered all of them to produce their IDs, which they declined to do. He also asked for cigarettes, although one of the victims said they do not smoke.
Meanwhile, Ng tried to seize a bottle of wine from the victims, claiming it was an "exhibit".
After one of the group called the police, Farmi and his accomplices left the scene without taking anything.
Farmi also pleaded guilty to threatening a policeman at Pasir Panjang MRT station on Nov 8, 2014.
Special Constabulary Corporal Muhammad Nabeel Rahman, 21, had been patrolling a Circle Line train from Buona Vista and noticed Farmi and his younger brother behaving suspiciously.
He tried to check on the duo, but Farmi raised his voice. When Corporal Nabeel ordered them to alight at Pasir Panjang to prevent a commotion, Farmi proceeded to pace around the platform furiously, waving his hands.
He then hurled vulgarities and firmly tapped the policeman's face twice, threatening to beat him up.
On Thursday, Farmi showed up in court four hours late, claiming that he thought his hearing was the next day. In mitigation for his offences, he said: "I know I did wrong. I apologise for the inconvenience I have caused many others."
His lawyer Christopher Sim said his client came from a broken home, as his parents had divorced when he was five.
Of Farmi's accomplices, Ng was given a conditional warning and Taufiq's case will next be heard in August.
For impersonating a public servant, Farmi could have been jailed up to two years, fined, or both. For causing hurt, he could have been jailed up to two years, fined up to $5,000, or both.
For using criminal force to deter a public servant, he could have been jailed up to four years, fined, or both.
