Trio beat up 'loanshark runner' by mistake
By Khushwant Singh
Ong Kim Hua, 32, unemployed pleading guilty for causing hurt and being mistaken a loanshark runner leaving Subordinate Court. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
FAMILY members, who called in the police after catching a 'loanshark runner', were themselves arrested for assault as he turned out to be a bank manager.
Their victim, Mr Lee Jing Chong, had to be warded for five days at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment of his injuries and required medical leave for a further 10 days.
In a district court on Monday, Ong Kim Hua together with his mother and his uncle, Teo Ho Seng, pleaded guilty to hurting the 31-year-old banker outside their Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 flat in 2009. Ong, 32, who is unemployed, also admitted to threatening to break Mr Lee's legs with a metal rod if he attempted to escape.
A district court heard the flat was vandalised at about 3am on March 15, 2009. At 6am, Ong was repainting the areas splashed with paint when he spotted Mr Lee walking along the corridor. He demanded to know what the stranger was up to.
Mr Lee tried explaining that he was there to deliver medicine to a friend living on the same floor but to no avail. Accusing Mr Lee of being a loanshark, Ong brandished a 0.87m-long metal rod, and demanded Mr Lee's wallet, cell phone and the plastic bag in his hand.
Mr Lee refused and Ong started throwing punches, while calling out to other family members. Teo, 47, came out of the flat and joined in the assault. Teo's mother Teo Suan Kee, 57, a housewife, also came out to smack Mr Lee on the head several times.
Teo's mother then called the police, telling them that they had detained a loanshark runner. However, investigations revealed that Mr Lee was really visiting a friend and was not involved in illegal activities. It was also discovered that Ong had stood as a guarantor for a friend who borrowed from an unlicensed moneylender. The friend defaulted on the debt and to 'catch' the loanshark runners that came to vandalise the flat, Ong kept two metal rods near the door.
By Khushwant Singh
Ong Kim Hua, 32, unemployed pleading guilty for causing hurt and being mistaken a loanshark runner leaving Subordinate Court. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
FAMILY members, who called in the police after catching a 'loanshark runner', were themselves arrested for assault as he turned out to be a bank manager.
Their victim, Mr Lee Jing Chong, had to be warded for five days at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment of his injuries and required medical leave for a further 10 days.
In a district court on Monday, Ong Kim Hua together with his mother and his uncle, Teo Ho Seng, pleaded guilty to hurting the 31-year-old banker outside their Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 flat in 2009. Ong, 32, who is unemployed, also admitted to threatening to break Mr Lee's legs with a metal rod if he attempted to escape.
A district court heard the flat was vandalised at about 3am on March 15, 2009. At 6am, Ong was repainting the areas splashed with paint when he spotted Mr Lee walking along the corridor. He demanded to know what the stranger was up to.
Mr Lee tried explaining that he was there to deliver medicine to a friend living on the same floor but to no avail. Accusing Mr Lee of being a loanshark, Ong brandished a 0.87m-long metal rod, and demanded Mr Lee's wallet, cell phone and the plastic bag in his hand.
Mr Lee refused and Ong started throwing punches, while calling out to other family members. Teo, 47, came out of the flat and joined in the assault. Teo's mother Teo Suan Kee, 57, a housewife, also came out to smack Mr Lee on the head several times.
Teo's mother then called the police, telling them that they had detained a loanshark runner. However, investigations revealed that Mr Lee was really visiting a friend and was not involved in illegal activities. It was also discovered that Ong had stood as a guarantor for a friend who borrowed from an unlicensed moneylender. The friend defaulted on the debt and to 'catch' the loanshark runners that came to vandalise the flat, Ong kept two metal rods near the door.
