I strongly encouraged the victim to bring this matter to light instead of suffering in silence. I hope that our Defence Forces will take this case seriously and that Justice will be served. The attached are images taken from the abuser’s instagram and the victim’s A&E discharge summary.
Summary:
SAF Captain who drives a BMW Z4 assaulted victim with countless punches which fractured her ribs, reluctant to pay medical bills as promised and yet insulted traumatised victim to stop begging for money as the injuries were not serious at all.
The abuser will be mentioned as ‘He’ in the below paragraphs and the identity of the victim is to be kept confidential.
Recount of the incident by the victim:
The assault incident took place at Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru on 15 July 2017, Saturday.
On Friday 14th July 2017, he who is a Captain with the SAF, pretended to be sick, took MC from work and we went Johor Bahru for a 3 days 2 nights short getaway. We stayed in their Presidential Suite which he claimed that it was booked by one of his friends for us to spend the weekend. The main purpose of us heading to JB was to repair his car, a BMW Z4. We sent in his car for repair on the 14th July just before the shop closed.
It was around 11.30pm on 15 July 2017 when he told me he was hungry and maybe we could order room service, or he would just head out to the convenience stall opposite the hotel to get some cup noodles. I flipped through the room service supper menu and told him I wasn’t hungry.
At that moment, I supposed anger rushed into his mind. He reached out to slam my laptop so hard that the screen was almost smashed, and he dashed over to my left side and gave me a punch on the left side of my face. Without even a chance to react, he pulled me out of my chair, pinned me down on the carpeted floor and started punching me non-stop. I landed on the floor on my right side. I curled up my body, used both my arms to cover my head and my left side was facing him.
Countless punches were thrown at me on my back, stomach and my left arm. I couldn’t estimate how long the punching lasted for, but I cried and shouted many times “Mummy save me!”. All these didn’t stop him from punching me!
As I struggled, I pulled down a chair at the dining table which hit his back. He got angrier and gave me harder punches. This time round, he hit my left ribs. I groaned loudly and started shivering in pain on the floor. He was scared, and he tried to pull me up, but I couldn’t. I laid on the floor for a while before I could get up.
When I managed to stand up, I ran to grab my phones, clothes and bag and tried to escape. He pulled me back and snatched my phones away. He grabbed both my wrists and asked what was I planning to do. I told him I am heading back to Singapore as I couldn’t stay there any longer, but he didn’t want to let me go. I struggled and told him that I will not forgive such violence and will report him to the police. He threatened to kill me in this foreign country unless I promised not to go to police and further insisted that he wouldn’t let me do that as he didn’t wish his parents to worry. Also, he didn’t want to put his career and reputation at risk.
Worried for my life, I had no choice but to say “Ok! If you want me to not go to the police, you text my mum now and apologise to her that you hit me!” While he was typing halfway, I took my belongings and ran out of the suite room. I hid at one corner of the stairs at the same level, sobbing alone as I didn’t have any ringgit with me and it was already 2am plus.
He found me around 15 to 20 minutes later and he told me he was very worried about my safety. He apologised saying he was very sorry for hitting me and didn’t know what went through his mind when he did that. I was feeling very weak to even stand and he helped me back into the room.
Back in the room, he kneeled down and begged me to forgive him and not go to the police as he was already under a lot of stress from work. He cried and held on to my legs while kneeling down. He promised to pay for my medical bills. As I did not wish to see him scared and live in fear, I agreed not to go to the police. I told him to message my mum telling her he found me so as not to let her worry. After he sent her the message at 2.40am, I felt very weak and cold and I collapsed. He carried me to the bed to rest first before sending me home the next day after we checked out. I took Panadol before I slept.
He tried waking me up at around 10am but I couldn’t as I was feeling weak and giddy. We finally checked out at 3pm as the journey back would take around 2 hours. I was afraid I might faint halfway if we were to leave earlier. On our ride back to Singapore, he threatened again that he would do something to my little sister, if I were to go against my promise to report to Police. I was in the state of shock and fear to even think rationally. I agreed to stick to my promise of keeping this assault to myself and let the matter rest.
We passed Woodlands checkpoint at around 4.45pm. My mum wished to speak to him regarding what has happened to me. We showed my mum my injuries and she lectured him. She wanted to report to the Police, but I begged and convinced her not to, saying that I already made a promise and didn’t want to go against my words. I had bruises mainly on my left arm, both wrists and my back. However, the pain at my chest was the one that was torturing.
After he left, my mum texted him and told him not to look for me anymore and she forbids us to meet up. I texted him as well, saying that I need some time alone as I was badly hurt, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
It was Sunday evening when I returned home on the 16 July 2017. The pain at my chest was not getting better just by taking normal Panadol and hence I decided to consult my GP near my place on Tuesday, 18th July 2017. As promised, I told the doctor that I had a bad fall. Doctor prescribed some strong painkillers (Arcoxia 120mg) and some drowsy flu medicine (Fedac) so that I could still sleep at night despite the pain and breathlessness.
I was still in pain despite taking the painkillers and decided to go to Changi General Hospital A&E on Friday, 21 July 2017, to seek medical advice and at the same time get my X-ray done. The X-rays showed that I had rib fracture on my 4th and 5th rib bone. I was given a 14 days hospital leave from 22 July 2017 until 04 August 2017. Doctor then prescribed another painkiller (Diclofenac Sodium 50mg) as the injection version of the same drug had successfully subsided the pain temporarily during my time at A&E.
Due to this assault incident, I was very traumatised, and I had nightmares almost daily. Most of the time I would be hiding in my room as I felt very weak and fragile. I don’t really wish to talk to anyone as well. Whenever I see people clenching their fist or even simply passing me something, I would get a shock, lose my strength and start to shiver. I was referred to the Psychology department at CGH. Both my psychiatrist and psychologist certified that I was suffering from severe PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after this assault and it was estimated that I would need 6 to 9 months to recover from the PTSD.
After the whole incident, I tried communicating, via messages and calls, with him to get my medical reimbursement. His replies would always be he has no money and that he needs his BMW Z4 as transport. His whole camp knows that is his car, so he couldn’t sell it. I asked him to discuss with his family regarding this and they said my injuries were none of their business. If I were to still insist on him paying for my medical bills, he would then start shouting at me using vulgarities and then further insult me by telling me to stop begging for money.
From what I know, after the assault, he had been travelling out of Singapore often in Business Class flights, attending gatherings and drinking sessions with his Z4 car group members. He claimed that he had tendered his resignation with the SAF as well. He could have used the money to pay for my medical bills instead of spending like that.
In order not to condone such irresponsible acts of his, I decided not to keep this assault a secret and make a police report. However, the police mentioned that as the case took place in JB, they can’t proceed with investigations. He said if this incident was even serious, Police would have taken the case and I would have been unable to make it back to Singapore from JB alive.
He then told me he has no spare cash to compensate me and that since our Police Force couldn’t investigate, then SAF cannot do anything to him. He then has no obligations to be responsible to my injuries and medical fees incurred.
Justice has yet to be served and I would be utterly disappointed in our Forces if this kind of matter is to be kept in the dark and an irresponsible abuser like this can be scot-free.
– End of email –