Singapore – After his appeal was denied on Friday (Feb 4), former actor Ng Aik Leong, also known as Huang Yiliang, will begin serving his jail sentence for assaulting a worker.
Ng, 59, was convicted at trial for assaulting a Bangladeshi worker, Mr Jahidul, with a metal scraper at the Singapore Islamic Hub on Dec 11, 2018.
He was sentenced to 10 months’ jail for one count of voluntarily causing hurt using a dangerous weapon.
Ng also had to pay Mr Jahidul S$3,300 in compensation for his salary and the pain and suffering incurred, reported Channel News Asia.
It was reported that failure to pay the sum would result in Ng serving an extra three weeks in jail.
When the Mandarin interpreter relayed to Ng that his appeal was dismissed and asked whether he would defer the sentence or begin serving immediately, Ng sat quietly while shaking his head. A few minutes later, he decided to start his sentence.
Ng first claimed he was the victim
While his case was at the lower court, Ng claimed that the victim had asked him to beat him and teach him. He added that he learned how to throw fake punches when he was an actor and did not really hit the victim.
Ng also claimed that the victim was a “big monster” who was out to frame him and “murder him,” hence he was the real victim.
During his appeal in the High Court, Ng hired lawyer Chung Ting Fai who asked for a lower sentence. The lawyer also requested the prosecution disclose the video footage purportedly showing Ng faking his punches while the victim pretended to be injured.
The judge dismissed all three bids, reported CNA.
Meanwhile, Mr Chung noted that the victim’s injuries would have been more severe if Ng had really used a metal scraper. There were also no witnesses to the alleged attack, only the victim’s testimony.
The post-incident closed-circuit television footage showing Ng sitting down calmly “was inconsistent with a person who just perpetuated violence on another person,” argued Mr Chung.
However, the prosecution said that the trial judge’s conviction was “amply supported by the evidence” and the sentence was not excessive.
Anger management issue highlighted
Director at Hoh Law Corporation 何进才律师馆, Michael Han, took to Facebook on Saturday (Feb 5) to comment on the news.
“I stress that I bring his case up in this post because I think he has a serious anger management issue,” said Mr Han, referring to Ng.
Mr Han highlighted that this was not Ng’s first offence.
“At his appeal, the High Court took into account a fine of S$3000 in 2012 when he assaulted a woman for failing to clean up after her dog,” he noted.
“And the most heartbreaking case is how his daughter had suffered under his hand,” he added, talking about Ng’s daughter, Chantalle Ng, 26, who admitted in a talk show that her father beat her so badly when she was 11 years old, resulting in her being hospitalised for a week.
“At this juncture, I feel that a word or two has to be said about anger, because it is often overlooked or dismissed by us, especially the perpetrator,” said Mr Han.
“Truth be told, anger is more than just a social inconvenience. It is socially destructive to the victim and to the abuser, socially deafening. And I know how such destructive emotion can overwhelm a person, leaving a trail of regrets and pain after the storm finally settles,” he added.
Read his full post here./TISG
Read related: ‘Heartbreaking’ that daughter Chantalle Ng said those things on camera: father Huang Yiliang speaks up