57-year-old PMD rider, Ang Boon Han, pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt, resulting in grievous harm and was sentenced to 8 weeks imprisonment after he had pushed a 71-year-old pedestrian for not giving way to him on a pavement because the latter didn’t notice his honking.
The Unexpected Conflict
The incident unfolded on a typical day in Woodlands, with Ang Boon Han riding his personal mobility device along the pavement of Woodlands Avenue 2.
Walking ahead of him was the 71-year-old victim as well as another 54-year-old man. Ang honked at them to give way and the 54-year-old man did so, but the 71-year-old man didn’t notice the honk at first but eventually gave way.
Ang Boon Han’s Reaction
Ang then got down from his PMD and confronted the elderly man for not giving way to him, and a dispute soon ensued, which resulted in Ang pushing the victim with both of his hands.
And had used so much force that the elderly man then ended up falling backwards onto the ground, using his right hand instinctively to cushion his fall but still hitting his head along the way.
He ended up suffering a fracture to his write and received hospitalisation leave of 14 days, as a result.
Mitigation
During mitigation, the defence said that Ang was apologetic for the incident and cooperated with the authorities, as well as offering compensation to the elderly victim, which was ultimately rejected.
They also cited his poor health and claimed that he suffered from mental health issues at the time, as requested for either a fine or jail term of maximum 7 days, compared to the prosecution’s request for a jail term of between 8 to 10 weeks.
The judge said in his judgement that he agreed that Ang had been cooperative and save the court time and resources but disagreed that Ang’s psychiatric problems should get a decreased sentence.
He was eventually jailed 8 weeks, and Ang has since appealed against the decision.