Chinese national jailed for pushing Indian-origin security officer in Singapore

Singapore : A Chinese national in Singapore was sentenced to six weeks in jail on Monday for pushing a 56-year-old Indian-origin security officer, causing him to fall and fracture his wrist last year.

Wang Lin, 42, a director at more than 100 firms, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Prakash Govindan Damodaran at a taxi stand outside the Thomson Road shopping mall on November 6, 2021, The Straits Times reported.

The court was told that Wang, who was driving a BMW X5, had gone to the shopping mall at around 11.45 a.m. to pick up his wife and daughter.

Defence lawyer S.S. Dhillon said as it was raining at the time, Wang drove to the lane closest to the building so his family would not be drenched but Prakash, who was standing on a chevron marking on the road, gestured at Wang to stop.

According to the report, Prakash told Wang in a raised voice that he was not supposed to enter the lane reserved for taxis, and suggested that Wang use the mall’s carpark, which has a 30-minute free parking grace period, to pick up his passengers.

Defending his client, Dhillon told the court that Wang 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. The force was such that Wang could feel the vibration of the impact from the inside of his car,” Dhillon said.

Wang then swerved past Prakash into an adjacent lane and got out of his SUV to confront the security officer. He shoved the victim on 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, The Straits Times reported, adding that Wang’s wife, who was nearby, pulled him away, and the family then left in their SUV.

When Prakash went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, he was found to have fractured his left wrist.

The Union of Security Employees posted details of the incident on its Facebook page on February 16, 2022 to highlight the physical and verbal abuse security guards endure at work, following which Wang was arrested two days later and charged in court in April 2022.

After Wang was charged, police released a statement saying, "offenders who harass and abuse security officers in the course of their work will be firmly dealt with".

Dhillon said his client had suffered tremendous trauma and agony following the incident, adding that Wang has been diagnosed with depression with suicidal ideation, and also had psychotic symptoms that meet the criteria for schizophrenia.