VIDEO

Man admits spitting at bus interchange, but claims it was only once

Juraimi Kamaludin, 48, accused for spitting on a woman face at Woodlands Regional lnterchange. -- ST PHOTO:  WONG KWAI CHOW
Juraimi Kamaludin, 48, accused for spitting on a woman face at Woodlands Regional lnterchange. -- ST PHOTO:  WONG KWAI CHOW

The odd-job worker accused of spitting at two women at a bus interchange is claiming trial to five of the six charges he is facing.

Juraimi Kamaludin yesterday admitted spitting at Ms Lee Kuan Eng, 34.

But he claimed he had done it only once during the argument at Woodlands Regional Interchange at about 9.30pm on Oct 22.

A video of the incident has attracted more than 285,000 views on YouTube.

In court yesterday, Juraimi said he spat at her only because she had insulted his mother and uttered a racial slur about him.

But he denied spitting in her face again or at Ms Teoh Lay Peng, 41.

He is also contesting allegations that he pushed Ms Teoh out of the bus and was behaving aggressively, causing annoyance and danger to the public and other passengers on bus service 950.

In addition, the 48-year-old denied behaving in a disorderly manner at a void deck in Bukit Batok on Sept 8.

Juraimi said: "How can I admit to what I didn't do?"

He added that he had been detained in the Institute of Mental Health for a month and upon his release, he saw the spitting video on social networking site Facebook. "I became very stressed," he said.

Juraimi, who has not engaged a lawyer and whose application for the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme was unsuccessful, is out on $10,000 bail.

His case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Jan 6.

If convicted of using criminal force, he could be jailed for up to three months, fined up to $1,500 or both. The spitting charges fall under this section.

He is also charged with committing a rash act. The maximum penalty for this offence is six months' jail and a $2,500 fine.

khush@sph.com.sg

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