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Elderly Died After Man Confronted Him for Smoking at Void Deck

2023-02-04 , 12:27 pm

If there’s one thing that Singaporeans are all too familiar with, it’s filing complaints.

But sometimes, it might backfire on us instead.

And that’s what happened to this man who ended up causing a retiree’s death after he tried to take a photo of the elderly man smoking at a void deck of a Housing Development Board (HDB) block in Hougang.

Just yesterday (3 February), Allan Chua Kim Wee, now 36, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt which causes grievous hurt.

This was because he hit Mr Ng Sioh Leng, a 74-year-old retiree, at the void deck of Block 328 Hougang Avenue 5 on 25 December 2021.

Mr Ng ended up succumbing to his injuries after being sent to the hospital.

Here’s what happened.

Noticed an Elderly Man Smoking at HDB Void Deck, Tried to Take Photos of Him to Lodge a Complaint

According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen, Chua was heading home from Hougang Mall after having breakfast on 25 December 2021 when he saw Mr Ng smoking at the void deck of Block 328 Hougang Avenue 5 at around 10.30 am.

Upon seeing Mr Ng, who was sitting on one of the benches while smoking, Chua decided to take photos of him in order to lodge a complaint with the relevant authorities.

Hence, he whipped his smartphone out and took photos while confronting Mr Ng about his actions.

A confrontation between both men soon ensued afterwards.

Initially, Mr Ng tried to chase Chua around a pillar two times.

However, as mentioned by DPP Koh, Chua was able to avoid being caught by Mr Ng by “back-peddling”.

Chua Saw Victim Again Near Lift Lobby

However, the interactions between the duo didn’t end there.

After the short altercation at the void deck, Chua decided to leave the area and walk towards the block’s lift lobby.

However, he noticed Mr Ng walking towards him when he reached the lift lobby.

Mr Ng was around nine metres away from Chua at that point. He was also holding a walking stick at that time.

Upon seeing Mr Ng, Chua decided to attack him.

“[Chua] then lowered his stance and charged towards the deceased, using his right shoulder to hit the deceased in the stomach area. The deceased fell backwards from the impact and hit the back of his head on the ground of the void deck,” DPP Koh commented.

Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage also proved that he attacked Mr Ng in such a manner.

Chua had allegedly gotten into a “ruck clear” stance, a stance used in rugby, when he charged at Mr Ng.

Chua, a customer due diligence analyst at Standard Chartered Bank, was apparently a rugby player during his schooling years.

Called Police After Realising that Victim Fell Unconscious

After thrusting himself at Mr Ng, Chua called the police at 10.40 am and requested medical assistance after realising that Mr Ng was unresponsive after the attack.

Chua had allegedly sounded apologetic in his call.

In addition, he also claimed that Mr Ng had tried to attack him with a stick first, which caused him to strike back.

After Chua called for medical assistance, Mr Ng was sent to the emergency department of Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Doctors there found out that Mr Ng had sustained multiple head injuries due to the attack and admitted him to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Unfortunately, Mr Ng passed away at 10 pm on the same day.

An autopsy, which confirmed that a severe head injury caused his death, was conducted on him afterwards.

Lawyer Argued that Accused Has Strong Sense of “Civic-Mindedness”

During the hearing yesterday (3 February), DPP asked the court to sentence Chua to four years in jail.

In particular, this was due to how Chua started and fueled the altercation between the two men.

Additionally, DPP Koh noted that the two men differed significantly in size.

For reference, Chua stands at 1.73m tall and weighs 100kg, a stark contrast to Mr Ng, who was 1.61m tall and weighed 54kg.

Yup, Chua’s almost twice as large as Mr Ng.

Regarding the men’s build, DPP Koh pointed out that Chua should receive punishment for his actions as he still chose to attack Mr Ng even though he knew that he was much larger than Mr Ng.

On the other hand, Chua’s lawyer pointed out that Chua has a “strong sense of civic-mindedness”.

Ranjit Singh, Chua’s lawyer, revealed that Chua utilises the OneService portal around three to four times each month to give feedback on various estate issues in his neighbourhood, such as high-rise littering and dirty public areas.

He also said that Chua is highly traumatised and regretful about the incident, prompting Mr Singh to ask the court to impose a sentence of 24 months instead.

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However, DPP Koh retaliated by stating that Chua’s act of attacking Mr Ng was not civic-minded at all.

This was because instead of informing the relevant authorities about Mr Ng smoking at the void deck after taking the photos, he chose to approach Mr Ng directly and attack him afterwards.

Chua is expected to be back in court on Wednesday (8 February) for sentencing.

For voluntarily causing hurt which causes grievous hurt, offenders may be jailed for up to five years, fined up to $10,000, or both.