“I just looked at them and they started attacking me” – man who suffered head injury in Geylang brawl recounts

One of the ten men who was involved in the brutal Geylang fight on Thursday, 15 March, suffered a 10cm long wound on his head after he was pelted with blows by several others. Videos capturing the fight have gone viral online and show the man being brutally assaulted in the fracas, after he trips and falls to the ground:

The man, private hire driver Mr Chen, shared with the Chinese daily that he was attacked for simply looking at the other men:

“My friends and I were at a porridge shop having supper when we ran into a ground of Vietnamese acquaintances, so we sat down and chatted with them. There were five to six men in their 20s seated at the table opposite ours.”

The altercation began when one of the men at the other table hid his own friend’s wallet as a prank. The victim of the prank stood up to search for his wallet when he noticed Mr Chen and his friends observing them:

“When his friend returned his wallet, the guy threw it at us for reasons unknown. I looked at him, and he started hurling vulgarities at me. He taunted me in Hokkien, ‘what are you looking at? Let’s settle this outside if you’re not happy!”

Mr Chen tried to leave but three men from the other table followed him:

“Three of them came after me. Leading them was the man dressed in black. He was the one who threw the wallet at us. I kicked the leader in self-defense, and one of them punched me on my left cheek.

“I collapsed instantly. The three of them continued to stomp on my waist and kick my head, causing me to bleed.

“My friends later came and sent me to Singapore General Hospital (SGH). At the time, my white shirt was soaked in my blood.”

The police have since arrested a 22-year-old in connection with the case. Confirming that investigations are ongoing, the police said that the suspect was arrested for “uttering threatening words and the use of criminal force against public servants.”

Reporters who visited the suspect’s home spoke to a young woman who identified herself as a close friend of the suspect. The woman revealed that the suspect has been aloof since the incident and added, “He wouldn’t even speak to me these few days.”