Man fined for hitting his then girlfriend

A bank associate being sued by his former girlfriend for more than $350,000 for personal injury was yesterday fined $5,000 after he pleaded guilty to assaulting her.

Lim Kwang Wei, 31, also admitted to three other charges of causing hurt, which were taken into consideration in sentencing.

A court heard that Ms Geraldine Ong Tze-Yin, a lawyer, had picked Lim up in his car in the early hours of Oct 6, 2012. While along the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, they got into a quarrel.

Lim hit and punched Ms Ong in the head and slapped her in the face once. She stopped on the road shoulder in the tunnel towards Tampines Expressway. Lim got out and walked along the road shoulder. Ms Ong drove the car forward into his path, scraping the car against the tunnel wall, to prevent him from walking away. Lim slapped her several times through the car's open window.

Later, Lim stepped onto the safety platform. Ms Ong, who had alighted from the car, grabbed his shirt and refused to let go. He slapped her several times. She heard a ringing sound in her left ear and fainted.

Shortly afterwards, a traffic police officer found her conscious. Her face was red and her upper lip was swollen. She said her ear was in pain and she had difficulty hearing. Lim had scratches on his arms and face, and he admitted hitting her.

As the keys to his car were lost during the fight, a tow truck driver took the couple to a public hospital.

Ms Ong, 28, later went to a private hospital and was found to have a torn eardrum. She had to undergo surgery and her left ear has slightly reduced hearing now.

Lim had also assaulted Ms Ong when she stayed over at his house in Dunearn Close on July 5, 2012.

He could have been jailed for two years and fined $5,000 for each charge of causing hurt.

Amir Hussain

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 05, 2016, with the headline Man fined for hitting his then girlfriend. Subscribe