29-year-old Chinese national Han Feizi, who has taken the Singapore news media by storm with her antics in a now-infamous incident at the Singapore General Hospital, was sentenced yesterday (25 October) to 5 weeks and 5 days imprisonment, as well as a fine of $600, according to Channel NewsAsia.
She had pleaded guilty to 5 charges that included using criminal force on a condominium security officer, insulting a hospital employee, public nuisance, making a false statement in her work permit application; three other charges were also taken into consideration during her sentencing.
“I’m sorry”
During her mitigation, Han spoke through her Mandarin interpreter, and said that she was deeply sorry and felt remorseful.
She said that this was her first time in a foreign country, and that she had only come to Singapore for a little over a month and wasn’t familiar with the law here.
She said that she shouldn’t have reacted the way that she did, and that she was feeling frantic and helpless at the time following the accident with the Grab driver, and shouted at the hospital because she was in distress.
She added that it was her first time overseas and she didn’t expect to end up in this situation, and asked for leniency and a chance to go back to her family.
Han added that her “whole purpose” was to earn as much money as she could to provide for her family and alleviate their financial burdens.
She also added that she is sorry for the inconvenience and trouble that she had caused, and that Singapore is in fact a multicultural, multiracial society; and (she) ought to have exercised tolerance and greater understanding of the facts.
Finally, she reiterated that she shouldn’t have shouted in public or used the words that she used, before adding in English “I’m sorry”.
Recap
The prosecution said that Han was arrested on 11 October, and the MInistry of Manpower was then informed about possible breaches under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
Investigations then ensued and it revealed that Han had applied for a work permit earlier this year in August, after her application for a student pass was rejected.
In her application, she declared that she would be working as a clerk but failed to do so.
The prosecutor for MOM also added that Han had only wanted to come to Singapore to “have fun”, and that she applied for the work pass without trying to understand what it said, as the form was in English.
Drunk
Incident at The Sail
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The prosecution said that on 3 October at about 10pm, the police were called in by the security at The Sail at Marina Bay, a private apartment building, because there was a drunk resident that needed help.
Han was found by a security officer squatting in a common area, and she said that she was drunk; the security then helped the woman back to her unit but she became aggressive inside the lift and pushed the guard, insulting him with vulgarities.
SGH Incident
On 10 October, the Singaporean police received a call for help at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) at around 2:35 am.
Han claimed to have waited for three hours in the hospital’s emergency department without receiving any medical attention after allegedly being hit by a car.
She further alleged that a nurse told her she would not be treated because she was not a Singaporean citizen. These claims were later disputed by SGH.