PUBLISHED ONMay 18, 2022 3:40 AMByKhoo Yi-HangSeeing the clock tick down to the end of your working day is a liberating feeling, but the end of this worker's day probably had him seeing stars.
A migrant worker at a construction site near Orchard Towers was allegedly hit on the head with a mobile phone after an argument with another worker went south last Friday (May 13) evening, Shin Min Daily News reported last Saturday.
Chinese migrant worker Li, 50, tried to clock out after ending his day at work and went to submit his timecard to the worker in charge of punching the numbers in.
"There were many people at that time," Li, from Zhejiang, China, recalled. "The people who helped [punch numbers into our cards] told us to queue up."
When his turn came, his card was rejected by a Bangladeshi worker who was responsible for punching in the cards, Li told Shin Min Daily News.
He claimed that the Bangladeshi worker hit his hand with his mobile phone and refused to clock him out.
Angered, Li shoved the worker, to which the Bangladeshi worker retaliated by allegedly striking Li's head with the mobile phone.
When Shin Min Daily News reporters arrived on the scene, Li was seen with a bandaged head and a bloodied shirt.
A police officer was also at the scene taking Li's statement.
Another Bangladeshi worker told Shin Min Daily News that Li had instigated the matter by cutting in line.
Speaking to AsiaOne, the police said that they were alerted to a fight along Claymore Drive at about 8.05pm that Friday evening.
"Two men, aged 32 and 50, are assisting with police investigations," a police spokesperson said.
Police investigations are ongoing.
In 2021, a migrant worker from India was jailed for 6 months for punching fellow dorm resident and biting his finger, reported the Straits Times then.
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khooyihang@asiaone.com