Cleaner jailed for attacking neighbour

A Cleaner in a long-running feud with his next- door neighbour attacked him with a wooden chair after a petty row in their corridor.

Ang Lee Seng, 66, hit 76-year-old Mr Ong Wee Seng three times in the face and chest after accusing him of blocking the hallway with items he was packing for the karung guni man.

Ang admitted one charge of voluntarily causing hurt and was jailed for three weeks yesterday.

The court heard that Mr Ong raised his hands to defend himself and tried to run to the lift lobby but was still struck by Ang. The attack on June 16 last year stopped only after Mr Ong's tenant heard the commotion and rushed from her flat to intervene. She then called the police.

Mr Ong was taken to Changi General Hospital, where he was treated for a head injury, laceration and eye-socket fracture. He also suffered a bruise and abrasion.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Josephus Tan said the attack had occurred "in the heat of the moment from the highly incensed argument", and Ang was remorseful. His client, a cleaning assistant in a coffee shop, had not been in trouble with the law before.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Ang could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

This article was first published on June 11, 2015.
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