Birthday party turns violent

She was in a karaoke outlet at Orchard Road to attend a birthday party.

But while she was there, she was confronted by a woman who accused her of sleeping with her boyfriend.

The next thing she knew, she was set upon by six women. She was pushed to the ground, had her hair pulled and was hit all over.

On May 2, 2014, Ms Zheng Lu, 19, a student from China, was at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard's Kbox outlet with a few friends for a karaoke session.

She ran into Wang Xi, 24, also a student from China.

Wang accused Ms Zheng of having an affair with her boyfriend.

She then became violent and assaulted her.

Wang's five friends - Liu Jiabao, 31, a Singapore permanent resident from China, Ding Jiao, 29, a Singapore citizen originally from China, as well as Chinese nationals Qiu Zhulin, 28, and sisters Wu Huamin, 19, and Wu Huachun, 20 - joined in the assault.

Ms Zheng suffered scratches on her forehead, neck and chest as well as pains in her stomach.

Yesterday, the six turned up in court and each admitted to one count of voluntarily causing hurt.

It was not the only case heard in court yesterday involving women assaulting another woman. (See report on right.)

The court heard Ms Zheng had been assaulted twice at the outlet.

At about 11.15pm, Wang and Wu Huachun hit Ms Zheng with their hands before going their separate ways.

HAIR-GRABBING

At about 2.15am the next morning, Ms Zheng was invited by her friend to the outlet's VIP area for his birthday celebration.

That was when she ran into Wang again.

This time, Wang grabbed her hair, pulled her top and pushed her to the ground.

Wang and her five friends then hit Ms Zheng, who was on the floor, with their hands.

Ms Zheng's friend even used his body to shield her from the attackers.

Eventually, a Kbox staff pulled her away. The women were later arrested at the scene.

Ms Zheng declined medical treatment and the pains in her body subsided after a night's rest.

Yesterday, in mitigation, defence counsel Surian Sidambaram told the court that the six women have made up with Ms Zheng.

Mr Surian said Wang had suspected her boyfriend of having an affair with Ms Zheng.

He said Wang and her friends were at the karaoke outlet for the first month celebration of a friend's baby.

Liu and the Wu sisters then rushed to help after the scuffle ensued, Mr Surian said.

District Judge Victor Yeo noted in sentencing that the victim declined compensation and that her injuries were not serious.

Wang and Wu Huachun, a student, each had an additional charge of voluntarily causing hurt that was taken into consideration.

Judge Yeo fined Wang and Wu Huachun $2,000 each.

Liu, a housewife, Qiu and Ding - both working professionals - were fined $1,500 each.

Wu Huamin was fined $1,000.

For voluntarily causing hurt, each woman could have been jailed to two years and/or fined up to $5,000.

This article was first published on Feb 12, 2015.
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