Jail for man who spray-painted walls at Red Cross House, assaulted motorist in road rage incident
Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
March 31, 2026
The headquarters of the Singapore Red Cross, a public charity organisation, had opened to the public for just a few days after refurbishment works when a drunk couple defaced its walls with spray paint.
After committing the offence at the Red Cross House in Penang Lane near Fort Canning Road, Keith Ong Wei Han and Michelle Leong Yi Ling, who was his girlfriend at the time, posed for a picture together beside a vandalised wall.
In an unrelated case, Ong also assaulted a 35-year-old man in a road rage incident.
On March 30, Ong, 29, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one count each of mischief and assault.
He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of nine months from his release date.
Leong, then 24, was sentenced to a 14-day short detention order in 2024. This means she will not have a criminal record after her release from jail.
The Red Cross House reopened in 2023 after refurbishment, with a ceremony on Oct 3, 2023, which President Tharman Shanmugaratnam officiated.
Five days later, Ong and Leong walked into its premises at around 1am after consuming alcohol at a nearby bar.
She used a can of black spray paint to write a vulgar word on a pillar of the building. She also sprayed the word “Everyone” on a wall.
Ong spray-painted a phrase containing a vulgar word and also “I’ll kill every1” on a wall.
After that, he posed for photos “in a satisfied and happy manner beside the vandalised wall... with a cigarette behind his ear”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Tan.
A friend of the couple, who was working at the bar at the time, also helped take a photo of them in a tight embrace.
In an unrelated case, Ong was driving his mother home along Upper Changi Road East after a church service on Aug 27, 2023, when he got into a road rage incident.
He felt the driver of the car in front of him – a 35-year-old man, whose young daughter was with him – had deliberately driven in a certain way to get him stuck at a red light on a cross junction.
Court documents, however, stated that footage from Ong’s own in-car camera showed that this was not the case.
After chasing the other driver and stopping in front of the other car, Ong got out to confront him.
DPP Tan said: “(Ong’s) mother also alighted... to try and calm the accused down. She cried and begged (the other driver) to leave to avoid further escalation.”
After the man drove away, Ong continued the pursuit after leaving his mother at a bus stop.
Both cars later stopped in nearby Jalan Kuang. The two men got out of the vehicles and Ong assaulted the victim, including slapping him multiple times.
An occupant of a nearby house alerted the police and Ong fled before officers arrived at the scene.
But the authorities managed to track him down and he was called in for an investigation the next day.
Ong, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was represented by lawyer James Gomez.
A psychiatrist had felt that Ong was suitable to undergo a mandatory treatment order.
Offenders given such an order have to undergo treatment to address their conditions in lieu of time behind bars.
However, DPP Tan urged the court to sentence Ong to up to six weeks’ jail for the offences, adding: “The accused had displayed premeditation in the (assault) offence and he was voluntarily intoxicated in the (mischief) offence.
“Even though rehabilitation is a relevant consideration, it does not necessarily dictate a sentence that excludes incarceration. The accused can and should be rehabilitated in prison.”
Ong’s bail was set at $10,000 on March 30 and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on April 10.
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
