SINGAPORE - An unemployed man attacked his neighbour with a wooden pole for allegedly dragging chairs across the floor in her flat above and speaking loudly, a court heard.
Lee Soon Heng, 53, was given three years' jail on Tuesday (May 23) for causing grievous hurt to Madam Goh Kim Kee, 69, at the void deck of Block 6 Kim Tian Road on Oct 22 last year.
She suffered fractures to her left elbow, neck, right hip bone and collarbone and spent 53 days in hospital.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sheryl Yeo said Lee, who had been the victim's neighbour for more than 10 years, felt that Madam Goh was dragging chairs in her unit and speaking loudly. She lived above his rented flat in Kim Tian Place.
Sometime in August last year, he planned to attack her to "teach her a lesson".
In September, he found a 1.4m-long wooden pole at the lift landing of the void deck and hid it at the bin centre nearby so that he could wait for the right opportunity to attack the victim.
At about 11am on Oct 22 last year, he saw her walking nearby. She was on her way to buy groceries.
Sensing that this was the right opportunity to attack her, he went to the bin centre and retrieved the wooden pole. He then went to a corner of the void deck with the wooden pole and waited for the victim.
When the victim walked past him, he struck her repeatedly on her head, arms and upper part of the body with the wooden pole. She pleaded with him to stop and screamed for help, said DPP Yeo.
The commotion attracted the attention of several neighbours.
The victim fell to the ground, passed out and lay bleeding.
A man rushed to her aid, removed the wooden pole from Lee's hands and told him to sit by a bench and wait for the police. A nurse, who was nearby, rendered first aid to the victim.
An Institute of Mental Health doctor stated that Lee has a depressive disorder with psychosis. He said this may have contributed to his offending and caused him to be overly sensitive to unpleasant stimuli, impairing his impulse control.
Lee, whose sentence was backdated to Oct 24 last year, could have been jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined. He cannot be caned as he is above 50.
