Daily Lessons from Life 01 February 2013 - 2 men jailed for damaging SBS bus, assaulting bus captain

David Beckam the footballer deserved a mention by me as he has signed for PSG Club in Paris for a 5-month contract and will donate his salaries to a children charity. Good for him and he wins a bit of respect from me as he was a totally over-rated footballer but an ok model. :-)

"2 men jailed for damaging SBS bus, assaulting bus captain - CNA 01 February 2013

SINGAPORE: Two men who damaged an SBS bus and assaulted a bus captain have been sentenced to 15 months' jail each.

Sin Teck Hock, 46, and You Yee Chong, 41, admitted that they hurt the bus captain John Achin at about 11pm on November 9, 2011.

Before the attack, they were with a few friends at a coffeeshop near Hougang Avenue 1. The group consumed more than 20 bottles of beer.

The pair smashed open the front door's glass panel, got into the bus and bashed the 36-year-old driver.

In mitigation, lawyer Kertar Singh said You, a Malaysian and father-of-two, lost his wife a month before the incident and that his two children are in Malaysia.

As for Sin, Mr Kertar said the deliveryman, also a father of two, has been taking care of his wife, a mental health patient, for the past 16 years. He said Sin's actions were "totally out of character".

Mr Kertar said both men are remorseful and have paid for the full costs of repairing the bus, as well as the loss of the use of the vehicle. They have also offered compensation to the victim. The lawyer said Sin and You have also attended therapy and counselling to give up alcoholism.

District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim said the level of hooliganism and sheer boldness of the two men were "appalling, audacious and shocking".

She pointed out that the thuggish behaviour had occurred at a public place, caused alarm and fear not only to the driver, but also to his passengers.

The two men did not stop their attack when police officers arrived.

"A clear and unmistakable signal must be sent out that no such attacks will be tolerated," she said."

A sheer moment of MADNESS is all I can mustered to say. Indeed, 'out of characters'.

Lessons for me are:

1. despite the sad background stories of the 2 offenders, the aggression was over-the-top and cannot be forgiven lightly here. Even if all parties expressed understanding UNLESS the victim withdrew the charges!;

2. one can imagine the dire consequence IF the police were not brought in or were not there in time to stop the 2 'out-of-control' men from bashing up the victim. The victim might have been beaten to death - accidentally regardless!!;

3. what would happened to the family of the offenders after they go to jail? Well, it will be difficult but this is life. They simply have to live with it and move on. If they don't, it will burden them and hurt them. The acts have been committed. It is best to move on instead of crying over spilled milk and questioned: why did it happen to me?

1 February 2013 is a good as any day to start the closure process...