Kelvin Tan Chun Long, a 28 year old SAF regular is getting himself into hot soup for throwing hot soup at a hawker assistant after she got his order wrong and could not redo the order.
For his actions, he was charged with one count of causing hurt by a rash act.
Incident details
The incident happened in a coffee shop at Block 676 Woodlands Drive 71 on 6 June 2020, where Kelvin had gone to to take away food.
The hawker assistant aged 53, known as Madam Tan Moi Moi, had prepared Kelvin’s order of fried beancurd skin wrongly due to miscommunication.
Instead of fried beancurd skin, she had prepared fried beancurd and had told Kelvin that she will not be able to redo the order as the food was already cooked.
This made Kelvin unhappy, and he turned away, pushing the plastic bag which held the takeaway container away to the floor.
He then walked to a nearby table which he had earlier placed his other takeaway food and threw a plastic bag containing a container of hot soup in the direction of Madam Tan.
Madam Tan got scalded
The soup in the container spilled out upon hitting Madam Tan, causing her to get scalded and feel a burning sensation on her right waist immediately.
She went to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) later in the day to seek treatment where she was diagnosed to have suffered from a minor burn injury and was given 11 days of Medical Leave.
Subsequently, she also went to Toa Payoh Polyclinic for follow up treatment.
Court findings and accused defense
The DPP for the case did not seek any particular sentence and said that she will leave the sentencing decision to the District Judge even though she noted that Kelvin’s actions were uncalled for and his reaction disproportionate.
In defense, Kelvin’s lawyer argued that his actions were committed in the heat of the moment as the food was meant for his son who has autism and can be quite fussy about food.
The lawyer also stated that Kelvin is feeling remorse over his actions and hopes for a second chance.
As Kelvin is also the only breadwinner for his family and an SAF regular, the lawyer asked the court not to impose a fine of more than $2,000 as any fine higher that that will make him lose his job as a regular.
Kelvin is set to return to court on 28 January 2022 after the lawyer and the prosecution have made their submissions on the compensation.
Possible penalties
Offenders who are prosecuted for rash acts may face a jail term of a year and/or fined $5,000.
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