A 56-year-old Singaporean man, was sentenced to five years and three months’ jail on Thursday (Jan 14) for beating up his 77-year-old mother with her walking stick, kicking her and stamping on her torso.

Adrian Yap Yin Leung tried to extort his mother’s ATM PIN in order to withdraw S$2,000, even threatening to cut all of her fingers with a knife.

The elderly woman was initially unable to call the police as she was in great pain — having suffered multiple rib fractures and bruises — but managed to crawl out of bed a few hours later to get help from her neighbours.

In court, Yap pleaded guilty to one count each of voluntarily causing hurt to commit robbery and failing to report for investigations while out on personal bond.

What Initially Happened

On the evening of Oct 16, 2018, Yap tried to ask his mother Madam Eunice Tsang for her POSB bank card PIN but became furious when she refused. He then beat her up with her quad walking stick multiple times, kicked and stamped on her torso, pulled her hair and threatened her, only stopping when she revealed her PIN.

Yap took her card from her wallet and left her flat at about 3 am to withdraw S$2,000 in cash from her bank account at an automated teller machine at Mount Alvernia Hospital.

In the morning, when Madam Tsang sought help from her neighbours, they called the police after noticing her facial injuries, a TODAY Online report said.

When taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, she was found to have extensive bruising over her right arm, multiple bruises on her chest and swelling of her eye socket. Chest X-rays showed she had sustained several rib fractures. She was warded in the hospital for 36 days for pain issues and post-traumatic stress disorder and given about two months’ hospitalisation leave. She did not need surgery and underwent rehabilitation during her hospital stay.

Offenders convicted of causing hurt to commit robbery will receive at least 12 strokes of the cane, but those aged 50 or above cannot be caned under the law here. -/TISG