Trio mistake bank manager for loan shark and beat him up

[MarrickG]

THE bank manager was at the right place but at the wrong time.

Mr Lee Jing Chong, 31, had gone to an Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 block to deliver medicine to a friend. While walking along a corridor, he was mistaken by a family to be a “loan-shark runner” and assaulted.

He had to be warded for five days in Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment of a haemorrhage in the right eye and cuts and bruises on the head and body. He was also given medical leave for a further 10 days.

In a district court yesterday, Ong Kim Hua as well as his mother and uncle pleaded guilty to hurting Mr Lee outside their flat two years ago.

Ong, 32, unemployed, also admitted to threatening to break Mr Lee’s legs with a metal rod if he attempted to escape.

A district court heard that the flat was vandalised at about 3am on March 15, 2009. At 6am, Ong was repainting the affected areas when he spotted Mr Lee walking along the corridor, and demanded to know what he was up to.

Mr Lee tried to explain that he was delivering medicine to a friend living on the same floor. Accusing Mr Lee of being a loan shark, Ong brandished a 87cm-long metal rod and demanded his wallet, cellphone and the plastic bag in his hand.

Mr Lee refused to do so and Ong started throwing punches while calling out to other family members. His uncle Teo Ho Seng, 47, a delivery man, joined in the assault.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ruth Wong said Mr Lee had pleaded with both men that he was merely running an errand and even specified his friend’s address. Ong’s mother, Teo Suan Kee, 57, a housewife, also smacked Mr Lee on the head several times.

Mr Lee tried to call the police but this only enraged his attackers who took the cellphone away. Out of desperation, he started shouting for help. Ong’s mother called the police, telling them that they had detained a loan-shark runner.

However, investigations revealed that Mr Lee was 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 loan-shark runners that had come to vandalise the flat, Ong kept two metal rods.

The trio’s lawyer, Mr Kertar Singh, asked the court to adjourn sentencing till Feb 14 to allow his clients to celebrate Chinese New Year with their families.

For hitting Mr Lee with the rod, Ong could be jailed for up to seven years and caned or fined up to $10,000.

For punching and slapping the banker, his mother and uncle could be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

An alleged accomplice Lee Lye Seng, 57, an odd-job worker, who is described in court papers as the mother’s friend, is claiming trial to charges of causing hurt.