SINGAPORE: A school bus driver received a seven-week jail sentence after pleading guilty to causing hurt to a 12-year-old boy whom he thought had spilt a can of green tea.
Since the boy ended up with a dislocated shoulder, the driver has been ordered to pay S$138 as compensation for the boy’s medical bills.
Poh Choon Huat, 64, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt, which caused grievous hurt. If he does not pay for the compensation, he must serve one more day of jail time.
The incident occurred around 2:00 pm on July 31, 2023, while Poh was driving students home. The Primary 6 boy, whose identity is protected by a gag order, was sitting at the very back of the bus with a friend.
The friend needed help opening a can of green tea, which the two attempted to do while the bus was still moving. A sudden stop caused the boy to drop the can, and the tea spilt.
The boy then took the can to the bus attendant to inform her about the spill. He had also cried out, “Aunty, water spill.”
She approached the back of the bus and reprimanded the two boys. The boy tried to explain that his friend spilt the drink, but the attendant said she would tell his teacher about the incident.
At this point, Poh, the bus driver, also scolded the boy, who again tried to explain what happened. The driver also said he would report the matter to the boy’s teacher and told him to get off the bus.
The boy refused and held on to his seat and seal belt. Poh then “grabbed the victim’s left wrist and left shoulder and pulled while the victim was seated, intending to cause hurt to the victim,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu, who added that the driver wanted to pull the boy out of the seat by his left shoulder.
And when the boy yelled at Poh not to touch him, the driver taunted him and pushed him on the shoulder multiple times. After the boy pushed the driver’s hands again, Poh swiped his hand over his cheek.
When the boy’s sister, 11, asked someone to take a video of the incident, the attendant stepped in, and Poh returned to his seat and drove the bus again.
However, when the boy’s grandmother learned about the incident and confronted Poh, the driver laughed it off.
The boy was taken to the doctor on Aug 2, and it was discovered that he had a dislocated shoulder, along with other injuries. He was on hospitalisation leave from Aug 2 to 15.
When Poh was sentenced, District Judge Kenneth Chin said:
“As a bus driver entrusted with the safety of his young charges, the accused’s response in this episode was inappropriate, disproportionate and had caused harm to a young victim, including the dislocation of his shoulder and almost two weeks of hospitalisation leave.” /TISG
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