In front of a packed congregation, the woman ran up the aisle to the altar where Father Simon Tan, 45, was standing and used her black handbag to hit the priest's arms and shoulders.

The attack lasted just a few seconds. The woman managed to get a few swings at Father Simon before a younger woman ran up to pull her aside, with the help of several churchgoers.

Witnesses described the attacker as tanned, slim and wearing jeans and a turquoise polo T-shirt.

At that time, Father Simon was in the midst of asking for donations to fund a procession to be held on Sept 7 to mark the birthday of the Virgin Mary.

The woman was shouting incoherently during the scuffle and was struggling violently when pulled away. Father Simon kept calm and composed and asked the congregation to 'pray'.

The woman was led out of the church by the younger woman.

The priest continued the 30-minute service without mentioning the incident.

Father Simon is one of two priests from the Novena Church in Thomson accused by Madam Amutha Valli Krishnan of performing an illegal exorcism on her in 2004.

The High Court hearing into the lawsuit ended last month although a verdict is still pending.

Father Simon could not be reached for comment yesterday. Another priest in the church said he knew of the incident but would not say more.

No police report was lodged. Disturbing a religious assembly is a crime punishable by up to a year in jail.

A churchgoer who witnessed the attack said: 'When I saw the woman rushing forward to Father Simon and raising her handbag, I thought she was going to pass some donations to him. I was thinking why she didn't want to do that later.'

ameltan@sph.com.sg