SINGAPORE – A woman was sentenced to a 14-day short detention order (SDO) on Oct 24 after she committed mischief at the Singapore Red Cross headquarters while drunk and posed for photos with her boyfriend.

       This means that Michelle Leong Yi Ling, 24, will be jailed for 14 days but will not have a criminal record after her release.

       In September, she pleaded guilty to one count of mischief. Another count of trespass was considered during sentencing.

       She spray-painted the walls of Red Cross House on Oct 8, 2023, less than a week after President Tharman Shanmugaratnam officiated a ceremony to mark the reopening of the building in Penang Lane, near Fort Canning Road.

       Shortly before committing the offences, Leong was drinking with her boyfriend Keith Ong Wei Han, 28, at a bar in Dhoby Ghaut in the early hours of that day. His case is pending.

       They left the bar after sharing half a bottle of vodka and walked to Red Cross House.

       The building, which was opened in 1961, had undergone refurbishment and was reopened on Oct 3, 2023.

       Security cameras captured the couple entering the premises at about 12.50am.

       About an hour later, Leong used a can of black spray paint to leave a profanity and symbol on a pillar in Red Cross House. The couple also spray-painted other words on the walls, the court heard.

       Ong is alleged to have sprayed “I’ll kill every1”, among other things.

       The couple then posed for photos before they left the premises and went to Ong’s home.

       Contractors found the defaced walls later that day and repainted them.

       On Oct 24, the court heard that Leong had been assessed to be suitable for probation.

       But Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Tan urged District Judge John Ng to sentence her to an SDO instead, adding that she had performed the act of mischief, among other things, after consuming alcohol.

       Leong, who did not have a lawyer, told Judge Ng that she had lost her job after her case made headlines, and she was about to start a new job.

       When she said she wanted to be placed on probation, the judge told her to discuss the matter with her parents and asked her if she needed to consult a lawyer.

       After speaking with her parents, Leong reiterated that she wanted to be put on probation.

       However, Judge Ng sentenced her to the SDO.