SINGAPORE - A Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) student has been accused of arming himself with a knife to rob a woman of $40 last year.
The Singaporean teenager is said to have committed the offence at a Lengkong Tiga block of flats, near Jalan Kembangan, at around 1am on Oct 3 last year, about a month before his 18th birthday.
Since he was just 17 when he allegedly robbed the woman, he cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act, which covers individuals below 18 years of age.
Responding to queries, NP told The Straits Times on Wednesday (April 7) that the teenager is still one of its students.
Its spokesman added: "We take a zero tolerance approach towards any acts of misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary actions against students found guilty of breaching our student code of conduct to ensure a safe and conducive environment for our school community.
"We have extended counselling support to the student and are unable to comment further as the case is before the courts."
The student was charged with the offence earlier this year and according to court documents, he had allegedly put the woman "in fear of death".
His bail has been set at $15,000 and the case has been adjourned to April 21.
For committing armed robbery between 7pm and 7am, an offender can be jailed for up to 14 years and ordered to receive at least 12 strokes of the cane.
This case is one of several recent cases involving local tertiary students who were taken to court after they allegedly committed crimes.
One of them is Ong Jing Xiang, a National University of Singapore student, who is said to have committed offences, including stalking a woman between August 2019 and July last year and trespassing into her property on campus.
The court heard on Wednesday that Ong, now 25, intends to plead guilty to his offences.
He will be back in court on May 19.
For harassment, an offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.
And for trespassing, an offender can be jailed for up to three months and fined up to $1,500.
