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SINGAPORE: A man pleaded guilty in court on Thursday (Nov 3) to punching his sister and causing a tear in her eardrum over a dispute with their mother over some family photos.
Suresh Minhas, 39, admitted to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to his sister, with another three charges to be taken into consideration for sentencing.
The court heard that Suresh’s sister, 31, quarrelled with their mother on Sep 25 last year.
The dispute was over the fact that their mother had allowed Suresh to keep the family photos and other items that were of sentimental value to Suresh’s sister.
She demanded possession of some of these items and said she would confront Suresh in front of his wife and son if he did not return the items to her.
Suresh’s mother then told Suresh about the quarrel and his sister’s demands.
Suresh went down to confront his sister that same day. He was angry that his sister had quarrelled with their mother and threatened to confront him in front of his wife and son.
The pair began quarrelling, with Suresh using insulting words on her including calling her a “w****”. He also spat on his sister during the quarrel.
His sister threatened to call the police, and Suresh punched her on her face.
The impact of the blow caused his sister to urinate on herself. They began scuffling, and the victim tore Suresh’s shirt and bruised his collarbone area.
Both Suresh and his sister called the police. His sister said that her brother had abused her very severely and that she could not hear clearly from one of her ears.
As a result of the punch, Suresh’s sister suffered a eardrum traumatic perforation, with bleeding from her ear. She also suffered hearing loss.
The perforation was only determined to have healed spontaneously on Oct 13, 2020. Days after this, a doctor found that she was still suffering from slight hearing loss.
Since then, the victim’s hearing has completely recovered. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive disorder as a result of her brother’s violence against her.
Suresh paid his sister S$10,000 in compensation for medical, legal, counselling and other expenses, as well as S$3,000 for joint counselling sessions between the victim and their mother.
He will return to court for sentencing in December.