Man gets reformative training for bottle attack

A young man who attacked a passer-by with wine bottles was sentenced to reformative training yesterday for causing grievous hurt.

Stephen Yap Rong En, 21, and his friend assaulted Mr Sim Maw Chai, 22, in the early hours of Feb 1 last year.

A court heard that Mr Sim was waiting for a taxi with a friend outside the Jalan Sultan Textile Centre, when he felt someone bump into him. He was then confronted by Yap and his friend, Ng Wei Liang, 22. Mr Sim apologised but Yap and Ng did not let the matter rest, and asked him to kneel. When he tried to walk away, Yap and Ng began kicking and punching him.

The two of them then headed towards a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store. When Mr Sim walked into the store, Yap threw a bottle at him and grabbed another one.

Yap and Ng then attacked Mr Sim with the wine bottles, hitting him several times on his head and body. They left the store soon after. Mr Sim suffered a 1cm cut on the right side of his head, and a fractured left index finger, and was given seven days of sick leave.

District Judge Jasvender Kaur, in sentencing Yap to reformative training, said he would benefit from the programmes. Reformative training can last between 18 months and three years.

Ng was sentenced last month to 15 months' jail for the attack, and two other unrelated charges.

This article was first published on October 17, 2015.
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