• Robert Joel Trussell had spent a day at Lazarus Island
• When he returned, an ICA officer tried to stop him for a check but he ignored this
• He later pushed two officers and swung his arm at another
• One of the victims sustained a sprained wrist

SINGAPORE — After a day out with some friends and his wife on Lazarus Island off the southern coast of Singapore, Robert Joel Trussell attacked three officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on the mainland after they asked him to stop for inspection.

One of the officers suffered a wrist sprain after Trussell, who was drunk, pushed him to the ground.

On Wednesday (June 23), the 47-year-old American was jailed for three months after pleading guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant.

District Judge Tan Jen Tse considered two other similar charges, including using criminal force, in sentencing him.

The court heard that Trussell left the group in an intoxicated state to take a ferry back to Marina South Pier on Nov 1 last year. He got there at about 6.30pm.

He was directed to the manual customs clearance lane as he was not carrying any bags, but one of the ICA officers noticed a bulge in his shorts pocket and told him to stop.

However, Trussell ignored this and continued walking out of the clearance lane towards Marina South Pier MRT Station.

The officer tried to stop him, but Trussell swung his arm towards the other man and pushed another officer against a steel column.

The two officers then followed him to the MRT station, where a Kusu Island guide and a third ICA officer — Staff Sergeant Zuran Kamiso — noticed what was happening.

When Trussell got to the station entrance, he threw some pieces of paper to the ground in front of the others, then took the escalator down to the concourse level. They eventually caught up with him at the gantry gates. 

As he was about to cross the gates, one of the officers pulled Trussell’s arm to stop him. He then pushed Staff Sergeant Zuran on the shoulders, causing the officer to fall.

The others then pinned Trussell to the ground. He struggled and remained uncooperative as he was handcuffed, the court heard.

Police officers arrived at the scene at about 7.20pm and placed him under arrest.

‘BRAZENLY AND REPEATEDLY’ IGNORED INSTRUCTIONS

In mitigation, Trussell’s lawyer, Mr Kevin Liew from law firm Gloria James-Civette & Co, told the court that he has written an apology letter to the victims and wishes to give it to them in person.

Trussell also lost his job during the investigation process and has not been able to leave Singapore, Mr Liew said.

He has been sleeping on his friend’s couch and “even resorted to sleeping outside a few times”.

Given his financial situation, his daughter had to stop schooling and he has not seen her since December 2019.

His wife also left Singapore in January this year and Trussell has not seen her in person since, the lawyer added.

“He has lost about 15kg to 20kg due to stress and lack of finances… (The offences are) uncharacteristic of Robert and he promises not to allow this to happen again,” Mr Liew told the court.

The judge told Trussell that he had “brazenly and repeatedly” ignored the officers’ instructions.

“In your favour, I take into account the factors raised by your counsel — your remorse, plea of guilt and clean record. However, these do not mitigate against the seriousness of your offences,” District Judge Tan added.

For causing hurt to a public servant, Trussell could have been jailed for up to seven years, as well as fined or caned.