Lim Pei Ni Charissa v Public Prosecutor: Appeal Against Abetment of Cheating Conviction and Sentence

Lim Pei Ni Charissa appealed to the High Court of Singapore against her conviction and sentence for abetment of cheating offences. The District Court had convicted her on seven charges and sentenced her to 33 months' imprisonment. Tay Yong Kwang J dismissed the appeal against conviction, finding no error in the District Judge's assessment of witness credibility. However, the appeal against sentence was allowed, and Lim Pei Ni Charissa was placed on 36 months' probation, considering her age, potential for rehabilitation, and the circumstances of the case.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against sentence allowed. Appellant placed on probation.

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal against conviction for abetment of cheating offences. The court affirmed the conviction but allowed the appeal against sentence, ordering probation.

1.7 Decision Date

19 July 2006

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Public Prosecutor	Respondent	Government Agency	Appeal against conviction upheld; appeal against sentence overturned	Partial	Christina Koh of Deputy Public Prosecutor
Lim Pei Ni Charissa	Appellant	Individual	Appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against sentence allowed	Partial	Edmond Pereira of Edmond Pereira & Partners

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Tay Yong Kwang	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Christina Koh	Deputy Public Prosecutor
Edmond Pereira	Edmond Pereira & Partners

4. Facts

Appellant was charged with 177 counts of abetting cheating offences.
Appellant's boyfriend, Loo, stole credit cards and used them to make purchases.
Appellant and Loo were cohabiting at the time of the offences.
Loo stole a credit card from a mailbox using chopsticks.
Appellant was present during some of the fraudulent purchases.
Appellant claimed she did not know Loo was using stolen credit cards.
District Judge found the appellant guilty of seven charges of abetment of cheating.

5. Formal Citations

Lim Pei Ni Charissa v Public Prosecutor, MA 149/2005, [2006] SGHC 128

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2003-06-01	Loo stole a credit card from Toh Chong Yan.
2003-06-28	Loo purchased a shirt from a Giordano store using a stolen credit card.
2003-06-01	Loo stole cheques from his neighbour.
2003-07-08	Loo was imprisoned.
2004-03-09	Loo was released from prison.
2004-04-25	Loo stole a credit card and purchased items from Levi’s with the appellant.
2004-12-01	Appellant was questioned by the Commercial Affairs Department.
2005-01-01	District Arrest Cases Nos 18863, 18957 and 18960 of 2005
2006-05-19	Hearing before Tay Yong Kwang J. Conviction affirmed, decision on sentence adjourned.
2006-06-30	Appeal against sentence allowed; appellant ordered to undergo probation.
2006-07-20	Reasons for decision given by Tay Yong Kwang J.

7. Legal Issues

Abetment of Cheating
- Outcome: The court upheld the conviction for abetment of cheating, finding that the appellant had engaged in a conspiracy with Loo to commit credit card fraud.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Conspiracy
  - Agreement to commit unlawful act
- Related Cases:
  - [1999] 1 SLR 25
  - [1950] 1 KB 544
  - [2005] SGHC 195
Sentencing of Young Offenders
- Outcome: The court allowed the appeal against sentence, ordering probation, considering the appellant's age, potential for rehabilitation, and the circumstances of the case.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Rehabilitation
  - Probation
  - Public Interest
- Related Cases:
  - [1999] 1 SLR 138
  - [1995] 1 SLR 514
  - [2000] 1 SLR 34

8. Remedies Sought

Appeal against Conviction
Appeal against Sentence

9. Cause of Actions

Abetment of Cheating

10. Practice Areas

Criminal Law
Appeals

11. Industries

Retail
Finance

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Chai Chien Wei Kelvin v PP	Unknown	Yes	[1999] 1 SLR 25	Singapore	Cited for the elements of abetment by conspiracy under s 107(b) of the Penal Code.
Johnson v Youden	Unknown	Yes	[1950] 1 KB 544	England and Wales	Cited for the principle that agreement is at the heart of a conspiracy.
Hwa Heng Lai Ricky v PP	High Court	Yes	[2005] SGHC 195	Singapore	Cited for the principle that each conspirator must have an intention to be a party to an agreement to do an unlawful act.
PP v Lim Pei Ni Charissa	District Court	Yes	[2006] SGDC 24	Singapore	Refers to the district judge's grounds of decision in the case.
PP v Poh Oh Sim	Unknown	Yes	[1990] SLR 1047	Singapore	Cited for the principle that an appellate judge must defer to the findings of fact made by the district judge which are based on the assessment of witnesses, unless they are clearly wrong or wholly against the weight of the evidence.
Moganaruban s/o Subramaniam v PP	Unknown	Yes	[2005] 4 SLR 121	Singapore	Cited for the principle that an appellate judge must defer to the findings of fact made by the district judge which are based on the assessment of witnesses, unless they are clearly wrong or wholly against the weight of the evidence.
PP v Mok Ping Wuen Maurice	Unknown	Yes	[1999] 1 SLR 138	Singapore	Cited for the principle that rehabilitation is the dominant consideration where the offender is 21 years and below.
Siauw Yin Hee v PP	Unknown	Yes	[1995] 1 SLR 514	Singapore	Cited for the principle that probation may be inappropriate in cases where serious offences such as robbery or other violent crimes have been committed, or where the offender has antecedents.
PP v Muhammad Nuzaihan bin Kamal Luddin	Unknown	Yes	[2000] 1 SLR 34	Singapore	Cited for the principle that probation is never granted as of right, even in the case of juvenile offenders.
Chen Weixiong Jerriek v PP	Unknown	Yes	[2003] 2 SLR 334	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the number of occasions and lengthy period over which the cheating offences were committed disqualified the appellant from relying on her lack of antecedents as a mitigating factor.
Chua Tiong Tiong v PP	Unknown	Yes	[2001] 3 SLR 425	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court should not take into consideration the remaining 170 charges, which had been stood down in the District Court, as they were irrelevant for the purposes of this appeal.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed) s 420 read with s 109	Singapore
Penal Code s 107(b)	Singapore
Probation of Offenders Act (Cap 252, 1985 Rev Ed) s 5(1)	Singapore
Probation of Offenders Act s 5(4)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Abetment
Cheating
Conspiracy
Credit Card Fraud
Probation
Rehabilitation
Young Offender
Stolen Credit Cards

15.2 Keywords

Abetment of Cheating
Credit Card Fraud
Probation
Young Offender
Singapore
Criminal Law

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Sentencing	90
Criminal Procedure	90
Criminal Law	90
Abetment of Cheating	80
Young Offenders	75
Theft	70
Probation	70
Conveyance	30
Contract Law	30
Breach of Contract	30

16. Subjects

Criminal Law
Sentencing
Criminal Procedure