Man attacks his father, 75, for using toilet, netizens say 3 weeks jail ‘not enough’

Singapore — A man slapped his 75-year-old father multiple times at home for using the toilet. For that, the violent son earned himself three weeks in jail.

On Tuesday (Dec 28), Mohammed Ariffin Tajuddin, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable person.

It was reported that the father, Tajuddin Ibrahim, had taken out a protection order against his son in January this year.

Another charge for contravening this order was considered during Ariffin’s sentencing.

Ariffin was with his father in the master bedroom on Nov 10 this year when the father used the toilet.

“The accused then used his right hand to slap the victim’s face multiple times, and also used a towel which was on the bed to hit the victim’s face,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenny Yang said in a Straits Times report.

The assault caused the father to feel pain in his nose and eyes. Five days after the attack, when his daughter visited, she noticed bruises on his face.

When she confronted Ariffin, he admitted what he had done, and that very day a police report was made.

Ariffin was unrepresented when he appeared in court via video link and stayed silent when he was given a chance to offer mitigation.

ST reported that his sentence will be backdated to Nov 17. Upon his release, Ariffin has an appointment at the Institute of Mental Health.

In sentencing Ariffin, District Judge Kessler Soh told him to make sure he would never again hit his father.

For his offence, Ariffin could have been imprisoned for up to three years, fined S$5,000, or both. This sentence can be doubled if the victim was a vulnerable individual.

Responding to the offence, members from the online community touched on the issue of parental respect and the duration of Ariffin’s sentence.

The father’s safety was also a concern among netizens, who said the man would do it again if the father continued to live with him.

A netizen wondered if the violence stems from Ariffin’s upbringing. “Surely there’s resentment somewhere, although I feel that he still shouldn’t have resorted to that,” she added.

/TISG

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