Construction worker pleads guilty to biting off colleague's finger tip
An argument between two construction workers in a lorry ended with one of them biting off the tip of his colleague's little finger.
Logan Govindaraj, 30, pleaded guilty yesterday to one charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by biting off the tip of Mr Muthu Selvam's left pinkie.
District Judge Lynette Yap adjourned the case for a hearing to decide if the victim has been permanently inconvenienced by the attack, after the prosecution and defence lawyers failed to reach an agreement.
At 4pm on Dec 6, 2020, Logan, an Indian national, joined Mr Muthu and another worker, who was playing music and drinking alcohol, in a lorry parked near their dormitory at an industrial estate in Kranji Crescent.
Logan then drank at least three cans of beer, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Lee.
While drunk, he scolded Mr Muthu and accused him of sleeping with other workers. Mr Muthu told him to stop lying and asked him to leave.
After both of them got off the lorry, Logan kept shouting and obstructed Mr Muthu, who pushed him out of the way while placing his left hand on Logan's chest near his mouth.
"The accused bit the victim's left pinkie knowing he would likely cause grievous hurt to him," said DPP Lee.
Yesterday, Logan, who speaks Tamil, told the court through an interpreter that he could not recall scolding Mr Muthu in the lorry but did not deny it.
He then pleaded guilty to the charge. For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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