Apr 19, 2011
Man fractures brother-in-law's arm
By Khushwant Singh
Lousi Goh (above) pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to Mr Yap Kwang Fue and was sentenced to 11/2 years in jail and three strokes of the cane. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
BELIEVING that the Shih Tzu he asked his younger sister to look after had been abused, Louis Goh attacked his brother-in-law on March 9, 2009 and fractured his victim's right arm in two places. On Tuesday, the 34-year-old cabby pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to Mr Yap Kwang Fue and was sentenced to 11/2 years in jail and three strokes of the cane.
A district court heard that Goh handed the Shih Tzu to his sister sometime in 2007 but grew unhappy with the standard of care. When he found out that the dog had been hurt in a collision with a cyclist in 2009, he decided to punish Mr Yap. Soon after 9am on March 9 that year, he drove from his Ang Mo Kio flat to his sister's home in Jurong West Street 92. There, armed with a pole and a penknife, he ambushed the 33-year-old machinist at the void deck. When some passers-by intervened, he fled.
Asking for a lenient sentence, Goh told the court that Mr Yap had hurt his dog so he was justified in avenging himself. He added in Mandarin: 'He hit my dog but he is not guilty but when I hit him, it's not okay. In some countries, if the dog-owner had a rifle, he would have been shot. He is worse than an animal.'
Assistant Public Prosecutor Lydia Goh told the court that Mr Yap had denied abusing the dog but Goh still attacked him. The prosecutor also said that in 2006 Goh was jailed a month for causing hurt and breaching a personal protection order by hitting his wife.
District Judge Eddy Tham noted that Goh had not learnt from his previous convictions and would still resort to violence when things were not going his way.
Said the judge: 'Even if there had been abuse of the dog, what you did was wholly disproportionate.'
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