May 24, 2010
Man jailed for punching cop
<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
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AN UNEMPLOYED MAN who punched a cop at a police lock-up was jailed for 10 months on Monday. Chua Toh Lam, 49, who pleaded guilty, was also fined $500 for shouting and gesticulating wildly at KSP Pub at Jalan Besar on Nov 13 last year. The court heard that he had requested for a song at the pub which the singer did not know how to sing that day. Subsequently, he behaved in a disorderly manner by shouting and kicking the tables and chairs. When the police came, he refused to leave and instead, continued to shout and gesticulate with his hands despite three warnings to calm down.
He was taken to the Police Cantonment Complex where he became aggressive and stood on a chair during an interview. When Corporal Tow Huan Min, 25, tried to pacify him, Chua swung his fists upward and hit the officer on the chin. Assistant Public Prosecutor Asran Samad highlighted that Chua had three cases of assaulting police officers before in 1990. Chua, whose lawyer said he was drunk at the time, could have been jailed for up to seven years for causing hurt to a police officer, and fined up to $1,000 or jailed for up to one month for disorderly conduct.
