2010 Singapore train depot trespass and vandalism case

Oliver Fricker
Occupation	IT Consultant
Criminal charge	vandalism Entering Protected Area
Penalty	five months in jail three strokes of the cane

Oliver Fricker is the first Swiss national and the second high profile foreigner since 1994 to be caned for vandalism in Singapore. On 25 June 2010, under the Vandalism Act and Protected Areas Act, he was sentenced to 5 months jail and 3 cane strokes.

He pleaded guilty to cutting through the fence of an SMRT Changi train depot with an accomplice and spray painting two metro train carriages with the words "McKoy Banos", a widely documented signature of graffiti artists who has vandalised trains around the world. Fricker was arrested on 25th May, just two days before he was to leave for a new job in Switzerland. An Interpol arrest warrant for also raised for his British accomplice, Lloyd Dane Alexander.

In 1994, an 18-year-old American, Michael Fay received 4 strokes of the wooden cane for theft and vandalism; his case was widely reported around the world and ignited debate on Corporal punishment and Judicial corporal punishment in particular.

The case

The crime was committed at SMRT Changi depot on in the early hours of 17 May 2010:

• Fricker and his friend, Lloyd Dane Alexander, had scouted the location early in the day on 16 May and returned after midnight to commit the offense; each carried a bag, mainly of spray paints sourced by Alexander from a supplier
• Lloyd cut a hole in the security fence using a wire cutter brought along by Fricker
• on two train carriages nearest to the fence, Fricker spray-painted the word "McKoy" on the left while Lloyd spray-painted the word "Banos" next to it; Lloyd took photographs of the vandalised train carriages before both left through the same hole in the fence
• they flagged a taxi and went to Boat Quay for a drink before returning to Fricker's place, where Lloyd showed Fricker the photographs before they went to sleep;
• the next day, they left for Hong Kong for a holiday; Fricker returned three days later, while Lloyd decided to stay on in Hong Kong.
• Fricker was arrested on 25th May, two days before he was to leave for a new job in Switzerland
• his laptop computer was found to have 53 images, one video file of vandalised trains and emails ordering paint; a wire cutter was also found in his possession, used to cut through the fence of a train depot,
• the evidence left Fricker with little choice but to plead guilty in the hope of getting a more lenient sentence.
• Alexander is said to have planned the act and was in Singapore for 3 days

The "McKoy Banos" slogan has appeared on graffiti found and documented throughout the world, particularly on subway trains. McKoy Banos is believed to be the names of two persons who were the graphic artists; but Fricker says they simply copied the name after seeing it elsewhere.

Fricker Oliver, aged 32, is a native of Switzerland. Since October 2008, he has been working in Singapore as an IT consultant for Zurich-based Comit AG, specialising in financial industry software. He resided at The Sail@Marina Bay, a high-end condominium apartment overlooking Marina Bay in the prime business district. During his time in Singapore, Fricker has pursued his spray-painting art legally at one of Singapore's graffiti walls at Singapore's Youth Park, behind Orchard Road.

His accomplice, Lloyd Dane Alexander, aged 29, is a British national based in Hong Kong. On this occasion, Alexander was in Singapore for just three days as a tourist. Police has issued an global arrest warrant for Alexander earlier in June. Fricker says he first met Alexander in Australia in 1997.

Singapore's train operator, SMRT Corporation, did not report the incident to police for two days because staff thought the brightly colored graffiti was an advertisement. The graffiti had the large words McKoy & Banos painted with surrounding graphics. It was seen by many commuters and members of the public and even recorded by a teen public transportation enthusiast and posted on youtube, which may have alerted the authorities. It said the graffiti caused about S$11,000 ($7,900) of damages to two train carriages, but they have not decided whether to pursue payment.

Prosecutors did not specify how Fricker was identified, saying only the evidence came from police investigations.

Sentence

On 26 June 2010, Fricker pleaded guilty to two charges of vandalism and trespassing a protected place. A third charge stating that he had committed an act of vandalism by cutting the fence of the depot was taken into consideration. There was a pre-trial conference earlier in the week.

Fricker asked not to be given a "punitive custodial sentence" and his lawyer spent hours in mitigation, that:

• Fricker had shown genuine remorse and co-operated fully with police investigations;
• he was "cajoled" by Alexander to commit the crimes and made a one-off mistake "while inebriated" after consuming several beers
• he pursued his passion as purely graphic art
• the graffiti had not incited hatred, and left no lasting damage
• he is a model expatriate worker contributing to Singapore since his arrival in the city in 2008

The sentence was handed down about six hours after his guilty plead. Fricker was sentenced to five months in jail (three for vandalism and two for trespassing) and three strokes of a cane (for vandalism).

Judge See Kee Oon said Fricker's actions actions accounted to "calculated criminal conduct" and the offenses were "planned and carefully executed", adding "The defendant acted brazenly to add Singapore to his trophies. This is not a mere prank." The judge agreed with the Public Prosecutor, that he had committed a very serious offence that "alarmed the general public" and "shaken their confidence in the security of protected places".

Under the 1966 Vandalism Act, vandals could be sentenced to three years' jail, fined a maximum of $2,000 and given a minimum of three strokes of the cane. For entering a protected place under the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act, Fricker could have been sentenced to a maximum of two years' jail and fined up to $1,000.

Fricker was immediately taken into custody by court police but he is appealing for a reduced punishment. Prior to court sentencing, he had been free on bail of S$100,000