ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – A man was sentenced to jail yesterday for fatally punching his friend, leading to a fall that resulted in a fatal head injury.
Eng Chee Hong, 55, pleaded guilty on October 9 to voluntarily causing hurt, as well as a separate charge of driving under the influence.
On October 10, the Singaporean received a sentence of two years and nine months in prison, along with a SGD3,000 fine and a two-year disqualification from holding any driving licence.
The incident occurred in the early hours of January 1, when Eng punched the heavily intoxicated Dao Van Chien in the face out of frustration over Chien’s drunken behaviour.
Eng was acquainted with Chien, as he frequented the coffee shop where Chien worked. The punch caused Chien to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete floor.
The 38-year-old Vietnamese man died in hospital four days later on January 4.
Eng was granted a five-week deferment for his sentence after he claimed, through his lawyers, that he wanted to spend time with his mother, who is terminally ill. But his sister refused to continue being his bailor and told the court, “I think it’s best for him to start serving his sentence. I don’t wish to be his bailor anymore.”
When Eng asked to speak to her, she could be heard telling him “enough” in Mandarin.
District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan said the predominant sentencing consideration in this case was to provide retribution and deterrence.
Said the judge, “The sentence must clearly signal that those who resort to violence will have to pay heavily for the consequences of their deeds, especially in this case where death was caused to the victim.” He added that there were multiple aggravating factors to consider when meting out his sentence.
One consideration was that Eng’s attack on Chien was completely disproportionate.
“Even if (Eng) was irritated at the victim’s behaviour, it was entirely unjustified for him to punch the victim so forcefully on the face. The victim was not even a physical threat to him,” said Judge Koo.
He noted that even after Eng had punched Chien, he remained “completely callous and indifferent to the victim’s suffering” as he left Chien lying on the floor and continued drinking with his friends at a different location.
