Singapore: A Chinese national in Singapore was sentenced to six weeks in jail Monday for pushing a 56-year-old Indian-origin security officer who fell and fractured his wrist.
Wang Lin, a 42-year-old director at more than 100 firms, pleaded guilty to an assault charge against Prakash Govindan Damodaran outside the United Square shopping mall November 6, 2021.
Defence lawyer S S Dhillon told the court his client had gone to the shopping mall to pick up his wife and daughter.
The lawyer said as it was raining, Wang, a Singapore permanent resident, drove to the lane closest to the building so his family would not be drenched.
Prakash, who was standing on a chevron marking on the road, immediately gestured at Wang to stop.
“We are instructed by Wang Lin that he was taken aback when the victim shouted and gestured at him. At one point, the victim even hit the front of Wang Lin’s vehicle,” Dhillon was quoted as saying by The Straits Times newspaper.
“The force was such that Wang Lin could feel the vibration of the impact from the inside of his car,” the lawyer said.
Unhappy, Wang swerved past Prakash into an adjacent lane and got out of his vehicle to confront the security officer.
He shoved the victim in the chest with both hands, causing the older man to fall on his back. While Prakash was on the ground, Wang looked down and chided him.
Wang’s wife, who was nearby, pulled him away. The family then left in the car. When Prakash went to hospital, he was found to have fractured his left wrist.
Wang was arrested two days later and charged in court in April 2022. Monday, Dhillon said his client had suffered tremendous trauma and agony following the incident.
“The negative publicity on social media has completely paralysed Wang Lin as he has been demonised as a rich and powerful brat. He has unduly suffered in the court of public opinion and his character has been defiled,” the lawyer said.
PTI