SINGAPORE: A 61-year-old man was jailed for four-and-a-half years on Friday (May 11) for attacking his friend in a drunken brawl, causing him to lose consciousness and eventually die in hospital.
Tay Yang Leng pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Mr Yip Fok Weng, who had skull fractures and internal bleeding as a result of the attack.
AdvertisementThe court heard that the two, who had been friends for two to three years, had decided to go for a drink at a coffee shop in King George’s Avenue on Jun 27 last year. They two drank about 16 bottles of beer, and left the coffee shop at around midnight.
Shortly after, they got into a dispute.
Tay pushed Mr Yip forcefully, causing him to fall. He then punched and kicked Mr Yip multiple times. He continued to attack Mr Yip despite the latter having fallen at least twice as a result of the assault.
The attack was partially captured on CCTV footage, and witnessed by a passer-by, Ms Yap Ziling, who was walking her dog along King George’s Avenue.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"JUST A FRIEND THING"
Court documents showed that Ms Yap had seen Tay punching Mr Yip with both arms, targeting his head. She also heard the Tay shouting in Hokkien at Mr Yip, asking him “why (he) did this”.
When Ms Yap ran towards them and told the two to stop fighting, Tay ignored her. But he then looked at her and told her in Mandarin that it was “just a friend thing”.
While they were speaking, Mr Yip threw a punch at Tay.
Ms Yap tried to separate the two men, but Tay persisted in kicking and punching Mr Yip. The final punch, according to Ms Yap, caused Mr Yip to fall backwards and hit his head against the kerb.
He was unconscious and bleeding from a head injury.
Despite Ms Yap telling Tay to remain, Tay walked away, and flagged a taxi. Ms Yap then took down the taxi’s licence plate number before returning to Mr Yip and calling the police. Tay was arrested a few days later.
Mr Yip was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital unconscious, and died in hospital three weeks later.
TAY’S CONDUCT "UTTERLY REPREHENSIBLE": JUDGE
Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yi Ling asked the court to sentence Tay to at least four and a half years’ imprisonment, pointing out that his attack on Mr Yip was “clearly disproportionate”.
She added that Tay had also left the scene knowing that Mr Yip had fallen and hit his head, and did not give him any assistance.
In mitigation, Tay pleaded for leniency, saying that Mr Yip was a “nice person” and “good friend of mine”.
“I feel sorrow and grieve for the family,” he said, adding that he would not drink again in future.
But District Judge Mathew Joseph had harsh words for Tay, describing his conduct as “utterly reprehensible”.
“You did this to a nice man with your bare hands,” he said, adding that Tay was “just a whisker away” from being charged with a more serious offence.
He also described the amount of beer the two had drunk as “incredible”.
“I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve said in this court ... that if you cannot drink and control yourself, please don’t drink,” he said.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Tay could have been jailed up to 10 years, with a fine. As he is above the age of 50, however, no caning would have been imposed.
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