Second man in MRT brawl fined $1,500

Second man in MRT brawl fined $1,500

SINGAPORE - THE second man involved in a brawl in an MRT train earlier this year was yesterday fined $1,500.

Glass panel installer Teeng Kok Yong, 40, admitted to kicking Ng Cheng Kiat twice in his leg on the train which was travelling between Khatib and Yio Chu Kang station at about 11.40pm on Jan 11.

Ng, 50, was fined $2,500 on Feb 26 for grabbing and punching Teeng in the face.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Justin Seng said Teeng, who boarded the south-bound train at Sembawang MRT station, sat down along a two-seater row at the side of the carriage that evening.

Ng and his girlfriend boarded two stops later at Khatib and sat across from Teeng.

At the time, Teeng was playing a game on his cellphone while rolling his tongue, which had a metal stud on it.

Ng felt that Teeng's gesture was offensive and assumed that Teeng was trying to tease his girlfriend. He asked Teeng why he was making such gestures and told him to stop.

Ng then grabbed him by the shoulder and a scuffle ensued.

In the midst of the fight, Teeng kicked Ng twice and threw punches at him. Ng punched Teeng twice in the face and grabbed him.

The two ended up brawling on the floor for about a minute before a fellow passenger separated them.

They were later escorted out of the train by MRT staff at Yio Chu Kang station.

A video of their exchange of blows, filmed by another commuter, was punctuated with Hokkien expletives. It received several thousand views on YouTube, and also went viral on Facebook.

In mitigation, Teeng's lawyer, Mr Low Hui Hui, told District Judge Ronald Gwee that Ng had provoked his client by hurling expletives and grabbing hold of him.

Teeng, who has a son, could have been jailed for up to a year and fined $5,000 for affray.

This article was published on April 17 in The Straits Times.

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