SINGAPORE - A drinking session turned awry after a cleaning supervisor got into a dispute with his friend, assaulted her and her companion, and fought with three others.

Mong Say Giok, 39, was drinking with Ms Ng Mei Jia, a beer promoter, and Mr Hoo Kok Wai, a chef, in a coffee shop at Block 103 in Gangsa Road, Bukit Panjang, on June 6, 2017.

Ms Ng, 26, became upset with Mong when he talked agitatedly about mahjong to Mr Hoo, 26, and she pushed the table, causing some cups and plates to drop on the floor.

Mong poured beer on Ms Ng and walked away, while she and Mr Hoo followed him to the ground floor of Block 102.

When he saw that they had been following him, he intentionally knocked into Ms Ng with his body. She fell and hit her lower back. Mong then punched her in the face. When Mr Hoo intervened, Mong punched him as well.

At this time, three men confronted Mong and asked him why he had hit a woman. One of them had seen the commotion between Mong and Ms Ng in the coffee shop. The man threw a beer bottle in Mong's direction, which hit a wall and shattered. The other two men joined in and a fight broke out.

On Friday (Jan 12), Mong was fined $3,500 on each charge of hurting Ms Ng and Mr Hoo. Mong, who had no lawyer, pleaded for leniency, saying he was the sole breadwinner and he regretted his offences.

District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim allowed him to pay $2,000 on Friday and the balance by Feb 20.

Mong could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000 for each charge.

The case against the three men for fighting is pending.