Teen who trespassed onto MRT tracks and climbed down HDB block gets probation

The teen had “felt the urge to climb” before showering, so he left his unit at about 11pm on May 16, 2025, dressed only in underwear and shoes.

From the 16th floor, he tried to climb onto the rooftop.

A man who resided in the block heard noises from the corridor and saw the teen leaning on the parapet ledge. Feeling scared, the man called the police and noticed that the teen was on the ledge trying to climb to the roof.

The teen climbed up to the rooftop, where he listened to music and made video calls. When he heard the police shouting for him, he walked to the other end of the rooftop and climbed down using ledges and laundry racks.

When the teen noticed bystanders and police officers on the ground floor, he entered a flat on the eighth floor through an open window to evade arrest.

He hid under the bed, where an 86-year-old woman was sleeping and had not noticed him.

He surrendered to the police of his own accord half an hour later.

The prosecutor on Tuesday noted that the teen was found suitable for both probation and reformative training, and left the sentence to the court.

However, she flagged that the reports disclosed his propensity for thrill-seeking, among other things, and had a moderate risk of reoffending.

However, there were other “rehabilitative factors” noted in the reports. 

At the same time, the prosecutor said the train track offence was “clearly premeditated” and endangered the safety of commuters and the offender’s own safety.

Defence lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya from Regent Law urged the court to impose probation.

TEEN HAS TURNED TO ROCK-CLIMBING: DEFENCE

The defence lawyer said in his mitigation plea that the boy’s actions were “due to a lapse in judgment”.

He said the boy stays with his parents, who run a hawker stall, and that his father has a history of mental illness.

The teen suffered from developmental delays in early childhood and had a short attention span and “slightly autistic traits” during his formative years.

The lawyer said the incident has taught the teen a lesson and he has since turned to rock-climbing, hiking and volunteering as a dog trainer in a resolve to “productively explore his adventurous interests”.

The judge told the teen that the offences were very serious and that he would ordinarily have imposed a sentence like jail or reformative training.

However, he said he considered the teen’s “very young age” and was prepared to give him a second chance.

“I hope this is something you will remember, and you will learn and you will not engage in these risky behaviours again,” said District Judge Kessler Soh.

Turning to the boy’s parents, he told them: “You need to keep a close eye on him.”

For criminal trespass, an offender can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both.

For wilfully endangering the safety of people by trespassing onto a railway track, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.