Jobless man who slapped and punched elderly woman fined
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 23 Apr 2013 4:07 PM
SINGAPORE: An unemployed man who slapped and punched a 61-year-old woman in the bus has been fined S$4,000.
Twenty-eight-year-old Luah Kok Boon was also ordered by the district judge to compensate Madam Eunice Sim Kee Koon S$1,000 within seven days.
On Tuesday, the bespectacled Luah admitted to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to Madam Sim on 9 July 2012 at about 10pm on board SBS bus 143.
The incident happened while the bus was travelling from Orchard Turn towards Toa Payoh Interchange.
Madam Sim boarded the bus and saw Luah with his feet resting on the seat facing him.
She told him he should not be doing that as other people might want to take those seats but Luah ignored her.
Seeing Luah's refusal to budge, Madam Sim decided she could take a photo of him.
As she took her mobile phone out of the bag, the accused lunged towards her and slapped her across the face several times.
Luah also punched the woman causing her to suffer from a bruised cheek and swollen lower lip.
In submissions, prosecution showed the court a video clip of the incident.
The prosecution said Luah not only slapped but also punched the victim several times.
It added that the accused offered to compensate the victim S$1,000.
Speaking through an interpreter, Luah said he was very remorseful and that he was willing to compensate the victim.
Representing himself, Luah said for the past eight months, he had been "living in hell" and is out of a job.
He pleaded for leniency, saying the incident has been hard on his family.
Looking nervous, Luah added that he did not want a "reputation as an ex-convict".
District Judge Lim Tse Haw took these into consideration but said during sentencing that Luah ought to be ashamed of himself.
The judge said the bus was crowded yet Luah took up other seats by putting his feet on them.
He added that while it was a relatively minor incident, "a sufficiently high fine" was warranted as such conduct is not to be tolerated.
The highest penalty for voluntarily causing hurt is a jail term of up to two years and a maximum fine of S$5,000.
- CNA/ck
