A 35-year-old security guard was so incensed by his colleague defecating near the security post they were manning at Tuas South Boulevard that he rained six punches over his 49-year-old colleague over a span of two hours that ultimately led to the elder security officer’s death.
The assailant, Malaysian Joshua Thomas who had attacked his victim Jasvinder Singh, was convicted yesterday of causing grievous hurt to Singh, a fellow Malaysian, during the fatal attack that occurred almost exactly one year ago, between 16 and 17 Nov 2017.
The altercation began after the two guards had an evening meal and shared brandy together at their security post. Around 11pm, Thomas accused Singh of relieving himself beside the security post instead of defecating in the toilet.
Singh admitted to the offence after initially denying the charge, and apologised to Thomas.
Unappeased, Thomas punched Singh twice in the face until the Sikh victim’s turban came off. He also accused Singh of not repaying a loan Thomas had given him.
As Singh remained seated throughout the onslaught, refusing to retaliate, Thomas continued to punch Singh three more times before delivering a final, particularly forceful punch to Singh’s face around 1am the next morning.
Singh fell to the ground but tried to get back up. Thomas pushed him down again, relentless. A third security guard tried to break the two apart to no avail.
As a result of the punches, Singh suffered facial fractures and a fracture-dislocation of his cervical spine, which led to his death.
When Thomas could not revive Singh, Thomas oddly retrieved some money he had earlier given to Singh and checked into a Geylang hotel with a Thai sex worker.
Thomas was found guilty of causing grievous hurt to Singh in court yesterday. He will return to court to be sentenced on 4 Jan. If found guilty, he could be jailed for a maximum of 10 years, fined or caned.