SINGAPORE - A man who took pictures of an elderly person sitting in a no-smoking area with a lit cigarette was on Wednesday sentenced to four years’ jail for assaulting the smoker and causing his death.
Allan Chua Kim Wee, 36, pleaded guilty in February to one count of assault.
The court heard that he used his right shoulder to hit the torso of 74-year-old Ng Sioh Leng, who fell backwards and hit his head on the ground.
In earlier proceedings, defence lawyer Ranjit Singh described Chua as someone with a strong sense of civic-mindedness.
He would raise an average of three to four concerns a month on the OneService portal, to provide feedback on estate issues, including high-rise littering and dirty public areas.
On Dec 25, 2021, Chua was on his way home after having breakfast at Hougang Mall at about 10.30am when he spotted Mr Ng.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen said the elderly man was smoking while seated on one of the benches at the void deck of a Housing Board block in Hougang Avenue 5.
Smoking is not allowed in void decks, and in other spaces such as sheltered walkways and areas within 5m of a bus stop.
Chua snapped pictures of the elderly man with his phone, as he wanted to lodge a complaint with the authorities.
Mr Ng saw him doing this and went after Chua. He chased the younger man around a pillar twice but Chua managed to evade him.
But the victim, who was holding a walking stick, eventually caught up with Chua. When he saw Mr Ng approaching him from about 9m away, he charged at the elderly man.
DPP Koh told the court: “(Chua) then lowered his stance and charged towards (Mr Ng), using his right shoulder to hit (him) in the stomach area. (Mr Ng) fell backwards from the impact and hit the back of his head on the ground of the void deck.”
Chua noticed that Mr Ng was unresponsive after his fall.
Chua called the police at 10.40am to request medical assistance and was apologetic. He told the police that the man wanted to attack him with a stick, and he retaliated.
Mr Ng was later taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was found to have numerous head injuries.
He was admitted to an intensive care unit, where he died at 10pm.
