SINGAPORE, June 3 — Angry that his father had locked him out of the house after he returned home drunk, a 53-year-old man showed his displeasure by throwing two flower pots belonging to the older man from the 15th floor of a Housing and Development Board flat at Telok Blangah Heights.
Today, Goh Tiong Keng pleaded guilty to one charge of committing a rash act which endangers human life and was sentenced by a district court to four weeks’ jail.
A second charge of appearing drunk outside his father’s house, and causing annoyance to the 73-year-old, was taken into consideration for the younger man’s sentencing.
The court heard that the incident happened before 10pm on Nov 5 last year when Goh returned to the house of his father, Goh Thian Soo, after consuming two bottles of Tiger beer.
A toxicology report from the Health Sciences Authority found that Goh had a high degree of ethanol in his blood, an indication he was intoxicated, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Krystle Chiang.
Goh’s defence lawyer, Periowsamy Otharam, said his client had been living at the same unit with his father since his birth. Goh’s mother was no longer living with them, added the lawyer.
Upon returning to his family home that evening, Goh found that his father had padlocked the gate to the house, and there was no way he could enter.
When Goh tried to get his father to let him in by knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell, the older man called the police on his son.
While it was not clearly stated why the father would not let his son in, court documents showed that in one of the logged calls the older man had made to the police, he had said: “I called earlier, and police attended to me. However, after police left, my son returned and caused nuisance again. He is drunk.”
According to court documents, when the police arrived, they advised Goh to leave the scene before they subsequently left.
Goh, however, did not heed this advice and remained outside his father’s house and by this time had already grown frustrated with his father.
This caused Goh to throw two of his father’s flower pots off the flat’s parapet “in a fit of rage”, said the prosecutor, who sought the sentence given.
While no one was injured by the pots, a witness said he heard a loud sound which prompted him to call the police to report a case of killer litter.
In pleading for a lighter sentence for his client, Otharam said his client regrets what he has done and highlighted that he was a good citizen who took it upon himself to look after his elderly father who has a “cranky” temperament.
For committing a rash act which endangers human life, Goh could have been sentenced to six months’ jail, fined up to S$2,500, or both. — TODAY
