"Woman in Simei condo row charged - The Straits Times May 16, 2015
One of two sisters who created a ruckus at a condominium management office was charged in court yesterday with causing hurt and two counts of using criminal force on the building's manager.
Chinese national Tang Lei, 47, is accused of hitting Mr Colvin Quek Choon Kiat, 67, on his face and arms, causing bruises and abrasions over his forehead, at the Simei Green condominium management office on April 28. She is also said to have spat and splashed liquid from a drink can at him that morning.
The dispute apparently arose when the women wanted to apply for an access card to the condominium. The incident was captured on video and went viral online.
Tang's sister has not been charged. Mr Christopher Ravijit Singh Gill said he had just been briefed and will be making representations. Tang is out on $10,000 bail and her passport has been impounded. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for June 10.
If convicted of causing hurt, she faces a jail term of up to two years and/or a fine of up to $5,000. The penalty for using criminal force is three months' jail and/or a fine of up to $1,500 per charge."
When I first read and watched the videos, a few were sent by somebody in the cyberspace as the originally one did not revealed how it got started, I was not sure what to make of it. Now it seems the lady or ladies do have a case to answer in court!
Lessons for me are:
1. when arguments escalate to physical violence, the one who was aggressive first has to be aware of the consequence. This is especially so when the aggressions resulted in injuries and cause psychological trauma to the 'victim(s)';
2. the lady is not young, at 47, so it will be interesting to find out what are her defence to have resorted to violence when dealing with the victim. It will be good for the Integration of Foreigners into Singapore Council or Committee to take this case as one of the many 'negative demonstration' case studies to share with new arrivals in Singapore on 'what are considered UNACCEPTABLE behaviours;
3. of course, IF the lady won her case, we will also need to KNOW what had the 'victim' done that provoked the defendant to behave 'aggressively' or was it 'defensively'? Either way, this case can definitely be part of the treasure trove of 'lessons to be learned' for any 'Integration of Foreigners into Singapore' seminar.
May the truth be revealed and that open and transparent justice be served.
Peace and harmony to inter-nationalities co-existence in our tiny little Red Dot.
No comments:
Post a Comment