SINGAPORE — Two men who both believed that the other was trying to cut the queue for a taxi outside Golden Mile Complex late last year got into an argument, before one of them assaulted the other, leaving him with a broken eye socket.

Sim Yi Ming, 32, was jailed for 11 months on Thursday (Sept 1) after he pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to a 39-year-old man.

The court heard that sometime between 10pm and 11pm on Dec 27 last year, Sim and a friend were walking over to the entrance of the Golden Mile Complex along Beach Road after some drinks at a pub there. They could not book a private-hire car and decided to flag down a taxi.

Around that time, the victim Teo Ming Jie had also just left a separate pub and was waiting for a taxi at a taxi stand near the entrance.

It was unclear who was there first.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lim Yu Hui told the court said that Mr Teo, thinking that Sim and his friend wanted to cut his queue, then walked in front of the two of them.

A dispute broke out and Sim punched Mr Teo in his left eye.

At one point, both of them fell to the ground and Sim punched Mr Teo several times in the face, DPP Lim added.

At 10.59pm, police officers patrolling in the vicinity were alerted to the incident and saw Sim punching Mr Teo’s face while Mr Teo was on the ground.

After stopping the fight, Mr Teo was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in an ambulance. He was found to have suffered a fracture to his left eye socket and tenderness over the face.

He was held for further observation and management of his injuries and was given hospitalisation leave for a week.

Seeking a sentence of between 10 and 11 months’ jail, DPP Lim said: “(Mr Teo) had only walked in front of the accused to try to get a taxi. There was plainly no reason for (Sim) to resort to violence.”

DPP Lim added that Sim had a prior conviction of voluntarily causing hurt for which he was jailed for three weeks in 2014.

Sim, who did not have a lawyer, told the court that he had been waiting for a taxi at a petrol kiosk that was up the road from the Golden Mile Complex taxi stand for more than 30 minutes when Mr Teo “cut” the queue near the petrol kiosk.

Sim said that he had told Mr Teo “politely” that he was waiting for a taxi for a long time and that he was tired, but claimed that Mr Teo refused to back down and provoked him.

However, he admitted: “I know (it’s) still my fault. We shouldn’t get into conflict.”

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Sim could have been jailed for up to 10 years and be liable to a fine or caning.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by TODAY file photo

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