SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to three months’ jail on Thursday (Nov 3) for attacking his teenage sister’s boyfriend after she went missing following news of her pregnancy.
Kenneth Lee Jun Hao, 23, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt, with common intention. Another charge was taken into consideration.
The court heard that Lee, his parents, his godbrother and a friend of Lee’s sister went to the victim’s flat on the night of Sep 6, 2020, as they were trying to find Lee’s sister.
The group questioned the victim, who is now 20, but he refused to disclose the whereabouts of the girl.
One of the group members asked for the victim’s phone so she could look for the missing girl, but instead found compromising photos of Lee’s sister.
The group questioned the victim about the pregnancy, but the victim refused to take responsibility, the court heard.
Lee’s godbrother was angered by the victim’s behaviour. At about 11.45pm, he began punching the victim, causing him to fall on the floor.
Lee joined in and both men began punching and kicking the victim’s face, chest and ribs repeatedly for more than 15 minutes.
Lee’s mother and Lee’s friend also slapped the victim in the face several times. Eventually, Lee’s father stopped the group from attacking the victim further.
The victim contacted his probation officer and case worker, who called the police. He was taken to hospital with a fractured rib, multiple bruises and a swollen cheek and jaw.
The prosecutor asked for between four and five months’ jail for Lee, pointing to the extended duration of the attack and the fact that the victim was outnumbered.
Lee’s godbrother was sentenced in May to five months’ jail, with an enhancement of 120 days’ jail.
FAMILY WORRIED ABOUT MISSING GIRL: DEFENCE
Lee’s lawyer Tang Gee Ni asked for a shorter jail term. He said his client was only 21 at the time and has a background of mental issues, although there is no causal link with the offence.
He said that the family wanted to find Lee’s sister on the day of the incident as she had gone missing. The family was worried that she might do “silly things to herself”, and things got out of hand, said Mr Tang, adding that the victim was rude to Lee’s parents.
“At the time of the incident, there were these compromising photos of (Lee’s sister) that they saw for the first time,” said the lawyer.
“That was what broke the camel’s back, because the victim was not only rude to (Lee’s parents), but when confronted with the photos, he admitted he sent them out to his friends, although he promised to call them to delete the photos.”
He said the attack was carried out in this context. Lee’s sister was only 17 years old when she became pregnant, said Mr Tang.
The child is now 19 months old, he said, urging the judge to exercise compassion in this case.
“When he looks back, he knew he shouldn’t have taken the law into his hands. He very much regrets what he has done,” said the lawyer.
He added that the whole family has suffered because of this incident. According to court documents, the rest of the group involved in the attack have been dealt with separately.