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SINGAPORE: When a woman did not leave the elevator doors open, a 51-year-old man struck her with his cane and fought her before attacking her.
Seo Chye Sin was fined S $ 3,750 on Tuesday (October 27) after pleading guilty to one count of willfully causing harm and using criminal force. A third charge was considered.
The court heard that Seo was unemployed at the time and used a cane and ankle brace to get around due to his medical condition.
He was admitted to the hospital between June 2015 and August 2016 due to a stroke and suffered from hemiplegia, weakness on one side of the body, at the time of the incident.
At approximately 7 p.m. on January 27, 2019, the victim, a 49-year-old woman, entered the elevator in a block of the Housing Board in Choa Chu Kang.
Seo walked to the elevator and told the woman to wait for him, but he pressed the elevator button for the fourth floor and the doors began to close.
Seo stretched his cane towards the elevator door to prevent it from closing and entered the elevator, pressing the button for the 15th floor.
He turned to look at the victim and asked why he hadn’t opened the door for him and they began to argue.
The elevator did not stop at the fourth floor, where the victim intended to get off, and pressed the button again.
Seo told him to “push harder,” and the couple exchanged glances, Assistant District Attorney Kathy Chu said.
When the elevator reached the 15th floor, Seo stepped out of the elevator, before stopping the door from closing and asking the woman “what do you want?”
They started fighting in the elevator lobby, and Seo’s cane and the woman’s cell phone fell to the ground.
Seo pushed the woman on the upper chest, she pushed him away and leaned in to pick up her phone.
Then Seo hit her head several times and the woman screamed for help. Seo’s wife and son heard the commotion and ran to the elevator lobby to separate him from the victim.
The victim called her friend, who contacted the police. The next day, he saw a doctor, who found a large bruise on his temple that extended to his eyebrow.
The prosecutor asked for a fine of at least S $ 4,800, saying that Seo had targeted a vulnerable part of the victim’s body and was “demonstrably aggressive” towards her.
The defense asked for clemency and a fine of S $ 1,800, citing Seo’s medical condition.
“This severely restricts the use of his left arm,” said defense attorney Terence Seah. “As such, it is difficult for him to find employment and has not been employed since June 2016.”
He said his client was previously invited to a hospital to motivate other stroke patients in their rehabilitation and also volunteered at SPD, formerly the Society for the Physically Handicapped.
For willfully causing harm, Seo could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S $ 5,000, or both. For using criminal force, he could have been jailed for up to three months, fined up to S $ 1,500, or both.
