Mediaboss Marketing

By Shaffiq Alkhatib
The New Paper
Friday, Feb 17, 2012

The police will spare no effort in tracking down the two fugitives in the Suntec City brawl case.

They are looking at legal options to bring the two options brokers who absconded - Robert James Springall, 25, and Robert Stephen Dahlberg, 34 - back here to face the court.

Responding to queries from The New Paper, a police spokesman said: "Police would like to assure the public that the investigation into the Suntec City brawl case was thorough and complete.

"As each case differs in complexity, the time taken to investigate individual cases may vary based on the specific facts of the case and the available evidence...

"Warrants of arrest have been issued against Robert Stephen Dahlberg and Robert James Springall who absconded while on bail.

"We will work closely with Interpol to locate the two of them and bring them to justice."

The latest news comes as a relief to two of the victims in the case.

Dahlberg and Springall were charged over the incident, during which a taxi was hijacked and four people assaulted. The pair absconded separately while out on court bail.

Inquiry

The police spokesman added that the police are also conducting an inquiry into whether there was any mismanagement of the case.

The incident happened at 12.17am on April 11, 2010, but it took 10 months before the trio were charged. TNP first reported the case on May 11 last year.

The spokesman said: "In this case, the investigation findings were tendered to AGC (the Attorney General's Chambers) on 9 June 2011, and all three accused were charged in court on 7 July 2011.

"The court granted the defendants bail and permission to travel after considering representations made by all parties."

Springall, a Briton, had applied to the court on Aug11 last year for permission to go to the United Kingdom, saying that his grandfather had suffered a stroke.

His request was granted by the judge and his court bail of $6,000 was doubled. He was then allowed to leave Singapore from Aug 25 to Sept 5 last year.

Springall returned to Singapore on Sept 5 and was supposed to surrender his passport to the authorities, but he failed to do so.

On Dec 11 last year, he flew out of Singapore and absconded. His warrant of arrest was issued last month.

It is unclear who Springall was supposed to hand his passport to, and the police will be looking into this as part of the inquiry.

The police spokesman added: "We acknowledge that the case took a significant amount of time to be completed and are conducting an internal inquiry to establish the full facts of how the case was handled.

"If there have been any lapses, or any officers are found to have been professionally lacking or negligent in carrying out their duties, disciplinary action will be taken against them."

Collision

Springall faced one charge each of using a taxi without the owner's consent, voluntarily causing hurt to a cabby, Mr Tan Boon Kin, 57, and failing to keep a proper lookout while driving the vehicle, resulting in a collision with a signage pole.

In Dahlberg's case, he had been granted bail by the court to leave for London and Hong Kong from July 11 to 29 last year.

He was granted bail of $25,000, but he failed to return from the trip.

A warrant of arrest was issued on Sept 12 last year.

Dahlberg, a New Zealander, faces one charge each of causing hurt by an act which endangers life and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.

As warrants of arrest have already been issued against the two men, they will be arrested if they try to re-enter Singapore.

The duo's friend, Australian business development manager, Nathan Robert Miller, 35, pleaded guilty to his charges and was sentenced to three weeks' jail lastMonday.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by punching cabby Tay Gek Heng, 45, in the face. One charge of disorderly behaviour was taken into consideration during sentencing.

All three men had attended a black-tie charity event known as the White Collar Boxing before the attack.

Although it is not known where Dahlberg and Springall are, Singapore has extradition treaties with Commonwealth countries, including New Zealand and Britain, where the two men are from.

The authorities here have to track down the men's whereabouts before the AGC can submit a request for extradition.

When a person is charged in court, he can be granted bail in most cases if the offence involved is not a capital offence.

The bail amount is fixed by the judge, depending on the severity of the offence and other factors, such as whether the person is a flight risk.

While out on bail, the accused can also apply to the court to travel overseas. But in such cases, the bail amount will usually be increased by the judge.

Lawyers TNP talked to said that not all accused parties will have their passports impounded. But passports belonging to foreigners usually are.

An accused person will also not face additional charges for absconding.

But the judge will see the matter as an aggravating factor if he or she is later caught and dealt with in court.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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Expats who jump bail: We will bring them to justice