A young woman who assaulted a 13-year-old boy in an unprovoked attack, after he ignored her when she directed a racial slur at him, has been sentenced to a week-long short detention order (SDO), this week.
The assailant – Lynn Chan, now 20 years old -was also sentenced to a six-month Day Reporting Order (DRO) and 180 hours of community service, after she pleaded guilty in court in August.
Chan attacked the boy on 22 March this year as he was waiting for his mother near his school in Yishun, around 5.50pm. She first uttered a racial slur at him while standing in a flat on the second floor of a nearby block.
When the boy ignored Chan, she turned violent. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chua said:
“The victim turned and saw the accused on the second floor. The accused began shouting at the victim, asking if the victim wanted to fight. The victim ignored the accused.”
Marching downstairs to confront the boy, Chan hit the left side of his face with an empty plastic bottle before repeatedly slapping his face at least five times and biting his back in the ensuing altercation.
Chan fled the scene after the boy’s teacher, witnessed the attack, stepped in to intervene. The entire incident was captured on the teacher’s in-vehicle camera, according to court documents.
The boy’s mother lodged a police complaint shortly after she reached the scene, minutes after the attack. She then took the boy to a clinic where he was discovered to have bite marks on his right shoulder blade, along with scratches on his face.
The court heard that Chan tried to make amends by offering an apology letter and restitution of $318 to the boy but the boy’s father rejected her offers.
In delivering his sentence, District Judge Eddy Tham noted that Chan had taken steps to show remorse but also highlighted that Chan had assaulted a young boy with “no provocation whatsoever.”
Considering that Chan has to settle some personal matters, the judge granted her a deferment and she will begin her sentence on 17 Oct.
Offenders sentenced to SDOs will not have criminal records after serving their sentences. As someone who has also been sentenced with a DRO, Chan will have to report to a day reporting centre where she will undergo rehabilitation programmes, be monitored and counselled.