Public Prosecutor v Rosli bin Yassin: Cheating, Criminal Breach of Trust, Culpable Homicide, Theft, Forgery

In Public Prosecutor v Rosli bin Yassin, the High Court of Singapore sentenced Rosli bin Yassin to 12 years of preventive detention after he pleaded guilty to eight charges, including cheating, criminal breach of trust, culpable homicide, theft, and forgery. The charges involved multiple victims and a range of offenses committed between 2008. The court considered Rosli's history of convictions and the need to protect the public in determining the sentence.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Accused sentenced to 12 years’ preventive detention

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Rosli bin Yassin was convicted on multiple charges, including cheating, criminal breach of trust, culpable homicide, theft, and forgery. The High Court sentenced him to 12 years of preventive detention.

1.7 Decision Date

24 June 2012

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Public Prosecutor	Prosecution	Government Agency	Sentence of 12 years’ preventive detention imposed	Won	Lau Wing Yum of Public Prosecutor Toh Puay San of Public Prosecutor Luke Tan of Public Prosecutor
Rosli bin Yassin	Defendant	Individual	Preventive detention of 12 years	Lost	Wong Siew Hong of Infinitus Law Corporation Daniel Koh of Eldan Law LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Woo Bih Li	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Lau Wing Yum	Public Prosecutor
Toh Puay San	Public Prosecutor
Luke Tan	Public Prosecutor
Wong Siew Hong	Infinitus Law Corporation
Daniel Koh	Eldan Law LLP

4. Facts

Rosli cheated Sunarti of $250 by promising her $1,000 after withdrawing $300,000 from a bank.
Rosli cheated Zubaidah by taking her handphone under the pretense of a job offer.
Rosli caused the death of Ying by punching and kicking her during an argument over money.
Rosli stole Ying's laptop and handbag after causing her death.
Rosli instigated Jelly to forge Ying's signature on cheques.
Rosli cheated Adros by falsely claiming he inherited property and needed help withdrawing money.
Rosli borrowed $11,400 from Adros under the false pretense that he would repay him after a cheque cleared.

5. Formal Citations

Public Prosecutor v Rosli bin Yassin, Criminal Case No 29 of 2010, [2012] SGHC 129
Public Prosecutor v Rosli bin Yassin, Criminal Appeal No 5 of 2012, [2013] SGCA 21

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2008-08-15	Jelly approached Sunarti in a coffee shop at Lorong 20 Geylang
2008-08-16	Jelly asked Sunarti for another $100 to pay the hotel charges
2008-08-26	Rosli told Sunarti to proceed to the POSB bank first
2008-10-12	Rosli approached Zubaidah at an MRT station
2008-10-13	Rosli called Zubaidah and told her to meet him at the coffeeshop
2008-10-14	Rosli introduced Ying to Jelly
2008-10-16	Rosli and Ying travelled in Ying’s car to Lorong Sesuai
2008-10-18	Rosli instigated Jelly to forge Ying’s signature on various cheques
2008-10-18	Adros met with Rosli and Jelly at Marine Parade Food Centre
2008-10-20	Rosli asked Adros for another loan, this time for a sum of $10,000
2008-10-21	Jelly obtained $10,000 from Adros’ POSB cash cheque
2008-10-21	Adros received a call from POSB informing him that the OCBC cheque had been rejected
2008-10-22	Adros received a Returned Cheque Advice
2008-10-20	Ying’s body was discovered
2008-11-01	Rosli remanded
1999-04-01	Rosli sentenced to eight years of preventive detention
2008-04-01	Rosli sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment
2008-06-12	Rosli released from prison
2012-02-27	Dr Tommy Tan issued a report
2012-05-11	Rosli sentenced to 12 years’ preventive detention
2012-06-25	Decision Date
2013-01-15	Appeal to this decision in Criminal Appeal No 5 of 2012 was allowed by the Court of Appeal

7. Legal Issues

Preventive Detention
- Outcome: The court imposed a sentence of 12 years’ preventive detention, finding it expedient for the protection of the public.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
  - [2000] 2 SLR(R) 145
  - [2004] SGHC 120
  - [1999] 1 SLR(R) 769
  - [2010] 3 SLR 278
Cheating
- Outcome: The accused pleaded guilty to charges of cheating.
- Category: Substantive
Criminal Breach of Trust
- Outcome: The accused pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal breach of trust.
- Category: Substantive
Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder
- Outcome: The accused pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
- Category: Substantive
Theft
- Outcome: The accused pleaded guilty to a charge of theft.
- Category: Substantive
Abetment of Forgery for the Purpose of Cheating
- Outcome: The accused pleaded guilty to a charge of abetment of forgery for the purpose of cheating.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Preventive Detention

9. Cause of Actions

Cheating
Criminal Breach of Trust
Culpable Homicide
Theft
Forgery

10. Practice Areas

Criminal Litigation

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Public Prosecutor v Perumal s/o Suppiah	High Court	Yes	[2000] 2 SLR(R) 145	Singapore	Cited as a precedent for sentencing in cases involving preventive detention, particularly in relation to the offender's history of violent and non-violent crimes.
Public Prosecutor v Raffi Bin Jelan and another	High Court	Yes	[2004] SGHC 120	Singapore	Cited as a case where the High Court imposed 20 years’ preventive detention, but distinguished on the basis that the accused was deemed incapable of rehabilitation.
Heng Jong Cheng v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[1999] 1 SLR(R) 769	Singapore	Cited as a case where 20 years’ preventive detention was imposed despite the absence of violent crime antecedents.
Public Prosecutor v Rahim bin Basron	High Court	Yes	[2010] 3 SLR 278	Singapore	Cited for the argument that a court could not impose a sentence of preventive detention with retrospective effect and the treatment of the period spent in remand.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Criminal Procedure Code	Singapore
Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed)	Singapore
s 12(2)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 1985 Rev Ed)	Singapore
s 18 of the Criminal Procedure Code	Singapore
s 420 read with s 34 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed)	Singapore
s 406 of the Penal Code	Singapore
s 304(a) of the Penal Code	Singapore
s 379 of the Penal Code	Singapore
s 468 read with s 109 of the Penal Code	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Preventive detention
Cheating
Criminal breach of trust
Culpable homicide
Forgery
Common intention
Statement of Facts
Memorandum of Certified Previous Convictions

15.2 Keywords

Preventive detention
Cheating
Culpable homicide
Singapore
Criminal law

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Criminal Law	95
Criminal Procedure	90
Sentencing	80
Theft	70
Fraud and Deceit	70
Forgery	65
Cheating	60
Culpable Homicide	60
Murder	60
Preventive detention	50
Contract Law	30
Company Law	10

16. Subjects

Criminal Law
Sentencing
Preventive Detention
Cheating
Homicide
Theft
Forgery