4 weeks jail for Singaporean who shoved man down cinema stairs, injuring his neck and back

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean who got into an argument at the cinema that left another man injured was slapped with a four-week jail sentence on Monday (Aug 18). Additionally, he needs to partially pay for what the victim spent on medical treatment.

According to a CNA report, when 25-year-old Wong Jun Feng got into a fight with the victim, he kicked the headrest of the seat where the victim had been and then tried to run away from the movie theatre. The victim began to chase him, and when Wong pushed him so he could make his escape, he fell six steps.

The fall caused the victim to lose consciousness for a short while, and when he came to, others who had witnessed the fight helped him get up. He was brought to Sengkang General Hospital due to pain in his neck, back and upper right arm, and eventually needed to go on medical leave for a month.

Wong pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt that turned out to be grievous. A second charge related to his having kicked the headrest was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

In addition to jail time, he was asked to pay S$93.09 for the victim’s medical bills, the amount not covered by insurance. However, Wong opted for an additional day in jail instead of paying this amount. His lawyer said that he has since resigned from working as a porter at Sengkang General Hospital and is doing odd jobs to support himself.

What really happened?

The incident occurred on the evening of Jun 26, 2024, at Shaw Theatres at Waterway Point in Punggol, where Wong sat behind the victim, who was watching a movie with his wife and son. In the middle of the film, after Wong kicked the victim’s seat, he turned around and asked him to stop.

At one point, the victim approached the theatre staff to intervene, but later told them he no longer needed their help, since Wong had stopped kicking his seat. Just before the movie ended, however, Wong kicked the headrest forcefully, which started the fight between them, and ended with Wong pushing the man and leaving without checking if he was all right.

The pain that the victim felt in the two weeks following the incident was so intense that he needed painkillers so he could sleep. He also racked up S$1,861.93 in medical bills, although this amount was covered by Medisave and insurance.

However, since he could not work at the restaurant where he was employed part-time and made S$150 a day, he and his family were affected financially.

For the offence of voluntarily causing hurt that turned out to be grievous, Wong could have been given a jail term of as long as five years, been made to pay a fine of as much as S$10,000, or both. /TISG

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