SINGAPORE: In the heat of an argument, a 73-year-old resident pushed a 90-year-old gentleman, who fell sideways and hit his head on the concrete surface.
Toh Teck Chye did not intervene, leaving the older person lying on the floor. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he died of a brain injury.
On Thursday ( Feb 13 ), Toh was imprisoned for two years and four months. He admitted guilt on the cost of deliberately inflicting grievous harm.
The prey, Mr Choo Chin Nam, was suffering from memory and used a walking stick to move around. He lived only.
Although the two men were unknown, Toh had formerly seen Mr. Choo in the vicinity of Block 3, Marsiling Road, where the incident took place on October 15, 2023.
That evening, Mr Choo was sitting on a couch at the building’s vacuum deck, outside a senior exercise center.
Around 11.30am, Toh walked beyond. Mr. Choo began yelling at Toh and claiming that he owed him S$ 100 ( US$ 75 ). They began to argue when Toh turned up.
Mr. Choo stood away and Toh made enthralling movements toward him as the discussion got more heated. Additionally, Mr. Choo half aimed his walking stay at Toh.
Toh grabbed the running stick, and the two men began arguing over it. Then, to the left, the keep was released and Mr. Choo was pushed to the ground.
Mr Choo fell forward, hit the back of his head on the ground and lay still.
After briefly gazing at Mr. Choo, Toh walked away without any assistance.
Some hours later, Toh was at the hole board again and saw a dozen passers-by with Mr Choo.
He assumed that the bystanders had called an ambulance but avoided speaking with them, instead choosing to visit a local store to purchase instant noodles and tobacco.
When doctors arrived at about 11.45am, Mr Choo was still lying on the ground. He refused to respond to queries even though he could open his eyes and sit up.
There was no blood on the ground, but there was spit. In addition, Mr. Choo repeatedly vomited in front of the ambulances.
Toh stopped once more to see the ambulances, but he did not speak to them and left.
The incident office examined and directed Mr. Choo. He died at 8.24pm that evening.
The medical called the police twenty minutes later because it was unknown how or why Mr. Choo died.
Mr Choo’s examination found that he had suffered a 19cm-long bone bone.
After looking through closed-circuit broadcast images, investigators discovered Toh. On October 16, 2023, he was detained at home after midnight.
According to deputy public prosecutor Cheah Wenjie, Toh “intended to cause harm that was not terrible, but the hurt that he really caused was grievous,” causing the dying to suffer a head injury that led to his death.
Mr. Cheah requested three years and two months in prison. He claimed it was foreseen that Toh’s actions may have caused a 90-year-old who relied on a wood to trek some serious harm.
However, he acknowledged that “death was reasonably foreseeable from a single drive” given the nature of the one-time drive.
He even noted that Toh, who was represented by professionals from the Public Defender’s Office, indicated his plea of grief at an early stage.
Toh could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$ 10, 000 or received both sanctions for his crime.