SINGAPORE - An unemployed man was sentenced to a two-year mandatory treatment order (MTO) on Wednesday (Sept 27) after pleading guilty to offences including threatening to soak a State Courts staff member with his urine.

Sim Swee Guan, now 57, who had been diagnosed with delusional disorder, pleaded guilty last month to five counts of abusing public service workers, two counts of using abusive language against them and one count of committing wrongful restraint. Two harassment charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He committed these offences between October 2015 and July last year.

MTO as a sentencing option was rolled out in 2010 for those who have broken the law because of their mental conditions. Under the MTO, offenders have to undergo treatment in lieu of jail time. However, the order can be revoked if they reoffend or fail to comply with the conditions of their treatment.

Sim was a patient with the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Orthopaedic Department and had requested a medical report on his non-mental condition, which was not mentioned in court documents.

Unsatisfied with his diagnosis, he accused the hospital of giving him a fake report and repeatedly called its Service Quality Department for an explanation.

His calls to a service quality executive became increasingly abusive and he hurled vulgarities at her on five occasions between Oct 29, 2015, and March 21 last year. She alerted the police two days after his final call.

Sim decided to file a magistrate's complaint at the Crime Registry Department of the State Courts in February last year against the SGH doctor who was involved in the medical report. Sim returned to the courts a month later.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dwayne Lum said: "Prior to leaving his home... the accused urinated inside a plastic bag and (took) along the packet of urine with him to the State Courts. He intended to use the said plastic bag of urine to frighten the staff at the Crime Registry."

When Sim arrived at his destination at around 3pm on March 8 last year, he told a court staff member that he was unhappy with the outcome of his magistrate's complaint and started to abuse her with obscenities.

He then demanded to see her colleague, while holding the packet of urine in his hands.

DPP Lum said: "The accused admitted that he had meant to frighten (the woman's colleague) by shouting the words and threatening to throw the packet of urine on her in order to cause her to become smelly and not be able to take public transport."

State Courts security personnel escorted Sim out and the police were alerted.

DPP Lum said that Sim was later told by the State Courts Crime Registry magistrate that his complaint had been dismissed and he had to refrain from making similar applications for the same case.

However, Sim returned to the courts on July 21 last year to talk to staff and see if they would take up a fresh application for another magistrate complaint about the medical report.

At around 12.30pm that day, he went to an overhead bridge near the courts to ambush the staff when they headed out for lunch.

He spotted the head of the State Courts Crime Registry about 30 minutes later and grabbed the latter's right upper arm.

Sim then began accusing the man of telling the magistrate not to look into his complaints any more.

DPP Lum said: "The victim felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave the location but the accused continued to grab his right upper arm with his left arm. The accused used his right arm to hold on to the railing of the bridge.

"The victim told the accused that it was wrong for him to use criminal force... but the accused challenged the victim to call the police if he wanted to."

Sim finally released his grip and left the premises. The Crime Registry head informed the police about his ordeal later that day.

For abusing a public service worker, Sim could have been jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000 for each charge.