SINGAPORE, Dec 24 — A man who hurled a glass bottle at a double-decker bus in Singapore after a quarrel — shattering a window and injuring a woman seated inside — has been jailed for seven months and two weeks.
According to Singapore-based media organisation CNA, 38-year-old Quztaza Kamarudin was also ordered today to pay S$3,038.58 (RM9,500) in compensation or serve an additional 20 days’ jail. He had earlier admitted to committing a rash act, mischief and theft, with five other charges taken into consideration.
The incident happened on July 5, after Quztaza and his friends boarded SMRT service 190 from Bukit Panjang. While drinking soju on the upper deck, Quztaza got into a confrontation with a couple — Lim Phang Kai and his wife — who were standing near the staircase as he tried to alight near The Heeren along Orchard Road.
After a brief exchange of vulgarities, Quztaza left the bus. But as the vehicle stopped at a red light moments later, he spotted Lim making an obscene gesture at him from the upper deck. Enraged, he hurled his bottle of soju at the window beside Lim.
“The accused threw the bottle with such force and speed that it broke the thick window panel of the bus and hit the victim,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Intan Suhaily Abu Bakar told the court, as reported by CNA.
Lim’s wife, who was seated next to the window, suffered lacerations to her left cheek and required stitches. She was given five days of medical leave. About half of the upper deck was occupied at the time, and the prosecution warned of the clear risk to other passengers and even pedestrians outside The Heeren.
The damaged window cost S$2,708.40 to replace, and Quztaza made no restitution at the time he pleaded guilty.
He was arrested on July 8 after CCTV footage from the bus and nearby mall identified him. But the bottle-throwing was not his only offence.
In a separate case, also outlined by CNA, Quztaza stole a S$78 bottle of Chivas Regal from a 7-Eleven along Circular Road in the early hours of June 26 after legal alcohol sale hours. Staff traced the missing item on CCTV and alerted police when they found him still carrying the bottle, which was returned unopened.
Prosecutors sought seven to eight months’ jail, citing the “high degree of rashness”. They stressed that it was “fortuitous that the injuries were not serious and that the glass shards did not hurt the victim’s face more badly.”
Quztaza was produced in court following both incidents; his bail was revoked after the theft.
Under Singapore law, a rash act carries up to a year’s jail or a fine of up to S$5,000, while theft carries up to seven years’ jail and a fine. Mischief is punishable by up to two years’ jail, a fine, or both.
