A 28-year-old man was sentenced to 12 weeks of jail after he was found guilty of attacking a Ministry of Health (MOH) officer. The man was charged with using criminal force and voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant today (Sept 10).
The incident happened on the 21 Aug 2017, the man was supposed to be taken to the tuberculosis control unit located at NUH’s Communicable Diseases Centre for his treatment. He was escorted by one MOH officer and three Aetos auxiliary police officers at that time.
He refused to cooperate at first but he later agreed to follow them after much persuasion. The officers had kept a close eye on him as they were afraid that he might attempt to run away. True enough, the man tried to escape but he was stopped by the MOH officer.
He then behaved aggressively and slapped the hand of the MOH officer before running towards another exit. The MOH officer then told the Aetos auxiliary police to handcuffed the man but he ran away. While escaping, he threw a rubbish bin at the officers but missed.
After he was detained, the man spat at the MOH officer and verbally abused the MOH officer. The MOH officer then called for the police assistance. The man continued to behave aggressively and kicked the MOH officer in his abdomen.
On 20 Jan 2018, the man was transferred within wards at the Institution of Mental Health. After he was transferred, he attempted to escape again by climbing out from the window of the ward. When he was restrained, he then spat at a staff nurse and verbally abused the nurse.
During the court hearing, the man’s lawyer fought to reduce the sentence from jail term to probation however it was not considered. The man is set to serve his sentence starting from this Friday as he needs to settle some personal stuff. The man might be considering to appeal against his current sentence.