He moved to make way for them as they passed him, but Tan Jek He accused him of staring at Tan Qiu Yan and punched him on his left cheek, causing a laceration on his lower jaw.
The victim walked away and called his friends for help.
They later confronted Tan Jek He around Kitchener Complex, and detained him until the police arrived.
By this time, Tan Jek He had conspired with his girlfriend to accuse the victim of molesting her and claim he had punched the other man in retaliation.
DPP Ong said the couple had concocted the plan as they were worried that Tan Jek He, who had just been released from prison, would get into further trouble.
But they later came clean after CCTV footage of the incident was presented to them.
During sentencing, District Judge Lim Tse Haw noted one theft and one mischief charge were taken into consideration for Tan Jek He.
“This shows an utter lack of regard for the law on the part of the accused,” he said.
Tan Jek He’s defence counsel sought to defer his sentence as he is expecting his first child sometime in May.
He will begin serving his sentence on May 20.
Judge Lim said: “The only reason the court is deferring your sentence is for you to spend some time with your child, not for you to go and cause more trouble.”
On Jan 12, Tan Qiu Yan was sentenced to one week’s jail after pleading guilty to one charge of giving false information to a public servant. - The Straits Times/ANN