SINGAPORE, Feb 27 — Thinking that a man was making inappropriate advances towards his half-sister at a club along Orchard Road, Daniel Pang and another man rained blows on him.
It turned out to be a misunderstanding, because the victim was the boyfriend of his half-sister’s friend.
Yesterday, Pang, 23, was sentenced to nine weeks’ jail and a S$2,000 (RM7,108) fine. As he was unable to pay the fine, he was given another eight days’ jail.
This was after he pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily hurt, and several other charges related to a car accident that he caused while driving a lorry without a driving licence.
He was also disqualified from holding any driving licence for a year.
Two charges related to a fight outside Golden Mile Complex on Beach Road were also taken into consideration.
Attack at taxi stand
On February 5 last year at around 1am, Pang’s half-sister Eunice Chua, 27, her friends Rena Lin, 37, and Teo Chu Yik, 35, headed to Club Aura along Orchard Road for a Chinese New Year celebration.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Janessa Phua said that Teo and Pang did not know each other and they did not speak to each other while at the club.
“However, the accused was under the misconception that the victim had made inappropriate sexual advances towards Eunice,” DPP Phua said, adding that Teo was Lin’s boyfriend.
Teo, his girlfriend and Chua continued drinking until about 5am, before heading towards Orchard Hotel to wait for a taxi.
Pang and an unidentified co-assailant followed them out of the club and they began assaulting Teo.
“The accused punched the victim’s head from the back twice without any prior provocation or warning. The victim recoiled and used his hands to protect his face,” DPP Phua said.
“The accused and his co-assailant then began raining blows onto his back and head.”
While the two women tried to stop the attack, Pang and the co-assailant dragged and pushed Teo on the floor.
Pang continued kicking and punching Teo, while the co-assailant held Teo in place during the assault, which lasted for at least two minutes.
Various passers-by managed to restrain the duo. Despite being held back, they made two attempts to continue the assault, the court heard.
The victim and his girlfriend later managed to leave in a taxi.
Investigations revealed that Pang had been heavily intoxicated at the time, with 113 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
Car accident
Separately, on March 17 last year, Pang drove a lorry without a valid driving licence and collided with a car on a slip road along Sengkang East Road going onto Sengkang East Avenue.
He had a provisional driving licence, which meant that he could only drive with the supervision of a driving instructor.
DPP Phua said that Pang was a driving attendant hired by a moving company.
As part of his job scope, he would assist drivers with their deliveries but was not permitted to drive.
However, he took the keys to a lorry without his supervisor’s permission on March 17 at about 7.30am to deliver some goods to a customer.
Turning into the slip road in Sengkang, Pang was behind a car before entering the main road, but as the car stopped to give way to a motorcyclist, he hit the back of the car.
The car driver Toh Hung Tiong reported feeling pain around his neck, DPP Phua said.
“The accused refused to exchange personal information with Toh, instead requesting a ‘private settlement’,” she said.
Toh then informed Grab’s accident department, which later made a police report. DPP Phua did not tell the court why ride-hailing firm Grab was informed.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Pang could have been jailed for up to three years or been fined up to S$5,000, or both.
For driving with a provisional licence without an instructor, and driving without insurance, he could have been jailed for up to three months or fined up to S$1,000, or both, for each charge.
For driving without keeping a proper lookout, he could have been jailed for up to 12 months’ jail or been fined up to S$2,500, or both. — TODAY
