Welder jailed for fracturing colleague's head with beer bottle
Published on Jan 21, 2013
By Khushwant Singh
A welder, who hit a colleague on the head with an empty beer bottle for calling him insane, was jailed for a year on Monday.
Li Xin Xia, 27, had been working with the victim, Mr Li Jing, 33, for the past 3 1/2 years.Police investigations revealed that the workers had attended a wedding banquet at their employer's home on the evening of Oct 20. Both men, who are Chinese nationals, had drank a lot of beer by the time they boarded the chartered bus to go back to their company premises in Sungei Kadut. An argument ensued as the victim kept calling Li insane. He continued to goad Li even after they arrived in the room they shared.
In a sudden fit of anger, Li picked up an empty beer bottle and smashed it on his colleague's head who suffered a depressed skull fracture as a result.
Other workmates helped to drive the victim in a company vehicle to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where he was warded for five days. He received treatment for the skull fracture, had to have a 5cm cut in his scalp stitched, and an operation to remove blood clots from his brain.