Kick to a car, punch to the face, and a young life is lost

A man paid with his life for kicking a passing car after one of the passengers got out and punched him in the face.

The impact of the blow caused Mr Jeffrey Tan Junjie, 31, to fall and hit his head on the carpark floor. He died three days later from the head injury.

His assailant, Fino Foo Zhi Peng, now 28, was yesterday jailed for 29 months and given three strokes of the cane.

He had pleaded guilty on Aug 28 this year to one count each of assault and rioting.

Foo also admitted to one count of affray in a separate incident in 2018, which he had committed while out on bail.

Two of Mr Tan's friends were also injured in the Clarke Quay brawl, which resulted in the arrest of nine people.

On April 16, 2017, Foo and his friends were in a convoy of three cars at a multi-storey carpark at about 4am after a night of merrymaking.

When the last car drove past Mr Tan, who was in the carpark with his friends, he kicked the rear of the vehicle. Court papers did not state what prompted him to lash out.

Foo, a passenger in the car, got out, rushed towards Mr Tan and punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the floor.

The rest of Foo's group also alighted from their vehicles, including Allan Ng Wei Wen, now 34, who was armed with a metal rod.

When one of Mr Tan's friends, Mr Lim Soon Leng, tried to approach the stricken Mr Tan, Ng struck him with the rod, causing him to bleed from his face.

Seeing Mr Lim bleeding, another friend, Mr Xie Hui, moved towards Foo' group and told them: "That's my friend."

Ng reacted by hitting Mr Xie with the metal rod. The rest of Foo's group then ganged up on Mr Xie, who fell to the floor. The group, including Foo, continued raining blows on him, and Ng kept hitting him with the rod.

ROLEX

Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim told the court in August: "The force from the blows of the metal rod were so great (that it) put a substantial dent on the metal bezel of the Rolex watch that was worn on (Mr Xie's ) wrist.

"It was also great enough to break the chrome bracelet of the watch."

The attack ended only after someone shouted: "Let's go."

The group fled in their vehicles before the police arrived.

Mr Tan was taken unconscious to Singapore General Hospital (SGH), where he underwent emergency surgery but later died.

Mr Lim suffered bleeding in the eye, a laceration, and sustained two fractures to his nose.

Mr Xie had spinal injuries as well as bruises, abrasions and bleeding under his scalp.

During submissions for sentencing earlier, DPP Lim and DPP Kathy Chu called for at least 30 months' jail with three strokes of the cane for Foo's offences.

They argued that Foo had sparked off the chain of events by attacking Mr Tan.

While noting that he had punched Mr Tan only once, the prosecutors called it "an act of thuggery and gangsterism".

"His attack was completely disproportionate to (Mr Tan's) act of kicking his vehicle. No ordinary person would have reacted in the same way as Foo."

The DPPs asked for at least 30 months and two weeks' jail, a $22,000 fine and six strokes of the cane for Ng's offences, which included gambling that he had committed earlier.

They argued that Ng's use of the metal rod had escalated the violence, and the "ferocity of his blows can also be seen from the damage caused to Mr Xie's watch".

District Judge Christopher Goh yesterday jailed Ng for 29 months with six strokes of the cane and a fine of $41,500.

Three other men who attacked Mr Xie were also sentenced yesterday.

Terence Tan Chun Hon, 31, and Lye Wing Wai, 41, were jailed for 15 months each.

Chew Wen Cai, 33, who was also involved in other assault cases in 2017, was jailed for 20 months and given three strokes of the cane.