Fight between two elderly men ends with one dying
A dispute over the use of a fan at a nursing home between two elderly men resulted in one of them dying.
Yong Kok Kwong, 69, was yesterday jailed for 12 weeks after he pushed Mr Tang Chye, 71, causing him to fall and die from a head injury.
At about 9pm on Feb 21, Yong and Mr Tang got into a dispute over the use of the fan in their shared ward at Bukit Batok Home for the Aged.
Yong wanted to keep the fan on, but Mr Tang wanted it off.
They began to argue loudly, causing a commotion at the entrance of the ward.
During the dispute, Mr Tang used his walking stick to hit Yong three times on the shoulder.They then tussled over the stick, and when Yong managed to yank it away, he pushed Mr Tang on the chest, causing him to fall.
There was a loud thud when he fell, causing him to suffer the head injury and become motionless.
Mr Tang was also later found to have suffered a dislocation in the spine from the fall.
After seeing him fall, Yong walked out of the room.
A witness, who was about 12m away in the television hall, informed the staff who called for an ambulance.
Mr Tang regained consciousness when he was being taken to National University Hospital, but became unresponsive upon arrival.
He died about seven hours later.
Deputy public prosecutor Magdalene Huang claimed Yong had been nonchalant when he saw Mr Tang fall and asked for a sentence of 12 weeks.
But Yong's pro bono lawyer Diana Ngiam said she disagreed with the DPP that Yong was nonchalant as this was not in the statement of facts.
She added that he suffered from vascular dementia that resulted in personality disintegration.
She said: "This is a very sorry case of an accused person with problems himself."
In sentencing, District Judge Eddy Tham noted that Yong was not the aggressor.
He also asked that the necessary arrangements be made for Yong to return to the home upon release as the home had indicated they were willing to take him back.
For performing the rash act, Yong could have been jailed up to a year and fined up to $5,000.
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