Woman neighbour beat up granny till she bled

SINGAPORE - To residents, she was the Chai Chee chilli padi, small and feisty.

And when she strutted around, spoiling for a fight, most would avoid her.

But not on Saturday.

When Madam Toh Siew Hong, 65, returned from the market, her pint-sized neighbour marched up to her and shoved her.

Madam Toh, a housewife, slapped the neighbour on the face in retaliation.

And then it turned really nasty.

Fuming, the younger woman, who is in her 40s, unleashed her fist of fury and rained blows down on Madam Toh.

Even when the older woman fell to the floor and tried to shield herself, the younger woman continued stomping on her.

The whole drama was caught on camera. Madam Toh's family had installed a closed-circuit television unit outside their flat two weeks ago.

The younger woman, a known troublemaker, has since been arrested.

But that's scant consolation for Madam Toh, who is warded at Changi General Hospital with two stitches on her face.

She was bleeding from the nose and had bruises on her forehead. Her face was also swollen.

She could not sit up or walk, she said. She also has no appetite and has difficulty speaking.

She has undergone an X-ray and CT scan. She is in shock and doctors are watching her condition closely.

Speaking to The New Paper, she said: "I hit her after she pushed me first."

"But later on, I knew I could not retaliate. I could only beg her to stop. But she wouldn't."

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Madam Toh has lived at her flat at Block 10, Chai Chee Road, for 13 years and the younger woman moved in less than a year ago.

"At first, everything was okay. Then it went bad. I don't know why she keeps picking on me.

"She yells at me, threatens me and pushes me several times a week."

Madam Toh's family has made at least three police reports regarding the neighbour.

On Saturday, Madam Toh had just returned from the market at 10am when her neighbour went up to her and pushed her aggressively..

Said Madam Toh: "I snapped and slapped her face because she hit me first."

The younger woman was taken aback but regained her composure and started raining blows on Madam Toh. She pinned the older woman to the wall near the lift landing and yanked her hair.

"I lost my balance and fell," said Madam Toh.

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Screaming

"I tried to cover my face because she kept hitting. I was also screaming for help."

But the younger woman didn't stop and pulled Madam Toh down. When Madam Toh was flat on the floor, the young woman kicked her in the head and stomped on her face. Repeatedly.

The kicks were so powerful that Madam Toh's neck snapped back several times.

Satisfied that Madam Toh couldn't get up, the younger woman calmly returned to her flat.

The younger woman even kicked an officer when the police were alerted and tried to detain her after the attack, reported Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao on Sunday.

The police have since arrested the neighbour for using abusive language and voluntarily causing hurt to public servants.

Madam Toh's family was shocked when they saw the injuries on her. The grandmother of one lives in the five-room flat with one of her daughters.

Said her daughter-in-law, housewife Maggie Goh, 33: "How can anyone do this? It's totally inhuman. The woman just came and hit her."

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Added Madam Toh's son, Mr Yap Chew Kuan, 37: "I was at work during the assault and received a call saying my mother was in trouble.

Said the ship repair manager : "I was so worried."

About two weeks ago, they installed the CCTV camera outside their flat, which cost more than $2,000.

He said: "This neighbour has been creating a lot of trouble for us. We installed the camera because we felt threatened.

"We just hope my mother recovers."

'We generally avoid her'

Neighbours described the younger woman, in her 40s, as a troublemaker who often played her music loud and yelled at passers-by.

A relative of the woman also reportedly described her as "mentally unstable".

She has been known to blast music late into the night, said two neighbours who declined to be named.

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This resulted in the police having to turn up at the flat about 20 times in the past year.

Said one neighbour: "She would also shout random things at home. We generally avoid her because we don't want to get involved with her."

When The New Paper visited the younger woman's flat on Sunday night, her family declined to be interviewed.

A man in the flat, who appeared to be in his 30s, would only say: "Both sides are traumatised."

But the woman's son-in-law earlier told Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao that he had apologised to Madam Toh's family for the incident.

The son-in-law reportedly said the woman was not well and had previously received treatment at the Institute of Mental Health.

He was quoted as saying: "She is unstable and will scare people. Sometimes, she is okay. But she can suddenly throw tantrums and scold people."

He has seen the CCTV footage of the attack and said he felt "very sorry".

The woman lives with an uncle in the unit, the son-in-law revealed.

After her arrest, she was spotted at Changi General Hospital restrained to a wheelchair and accompanied by police officers.

bang@sph.com.sg

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