Prosecutor Says Bouncer Was Driven By Sense Of Vigilante Justice, His Actions Can’t Be Condoned
When you see a someone committing a violent crime and running away, what would you do?
Many Singaporeans would choose to look the other way, not wanting to get involved.
But Aaron Chua Jun Hao saw a man slashing 2 others with a knife and decided to give chase, stopping him by hitting him with his car 3 times.
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For that, he’s now facing a prison time and a driving ban.
Accused was drinking alone when he saw dispute
The incident happened at about 4am on 25 Jul 2019, reported The Straits Times (ST).
At the time, 25-year-old Chua was drinking alone at Club Peaches in Concorde Shopping Mall.
He saw a dispute break out between 3 men, and bouncers from Club Peaches escorted them out onto Kramat Lane, a road that runs just outside the club.
Accused is a bouncer himself, followed men out
Chua happened to be a bouncer himself, but at another club named Mao, TODAY Online reported.
Despite being already off work and not involved in the dispute either, he followed the 3 men out.
He saw the dispute getting more heated. Eventually, 1 of the men, Shaun Koh Kim Guan, took out a foldable knife and slashed the other 2 men.
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He then fled on foot in the direction of Cavenagh Road.
Accused gave chase with car
Bouncers from Club Peaches and another club chased Koh, who is 22 years old, when they saw what had happened.
Chua decided to give chase as well – with his car, which was conveniently parked nearby.
He caught up with Koh running on the pavement, and drove alongside him, Yahoo News reported.
Koh then tried to run across Cavenagh Road.
Chua took the opportunity when Koh was on the road to hit him in his back with the car, and Koh fell.
When Koh got up and tried to run again, Chua hit him with his car again.
When Koh tried to flee a 3rd time, he was hit for a 3rd time by Chua’s car.
The bouncers eventually arrived and caught Koh.
Slasher sent to hospital
After being arrested, Koh was sent to hospital.
He was found to have injuries that included tenderness on his lower back.
Thus, he was given 5 days’ MC.
Bouncer pleads guilty in court
On Monday (12 Apr), the case was in front of the court – however it wasn’t Koh, the slasher, being charged but Chua.
He pleaded guilty to 1 count of causing hurt by acting rashly.
The offence carries a jail term of up to 1 year and/or a fine of up to $5,000, ST reported.
Prosecutor says bouncer driven by ‘vigilante justice’
Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh was reported by TODAY as saying that Chua was driven by a sense of “vigilante justice”.
However, his actions “posed a high degree of danger”.
They were also premeditated, as he did it to detain the slasher, and this can’t be condoned.
Thus, she asked the court to jail Chua for 8 weeks.
She also called for him to be banned from driving for 1 year.
He’s set to be sentenced on 30 Apr.
Netizens side with bouncer
After reading the news, many netizens seemed to be on Chua’s side.
Some asked why he was facing charges at all. After all, they reasoned that he did help to catch someone who seriously assaulted others.
Another described his actions as heroic and a good deed, and said he shouldn’t have gotten into trouble because of them.
One netizen was concerned that this case will discourage other people from helping, for fear of getting into trouble themselves.
One of the netizens who sort of defended the decision to prosecute pointed out that even police officers who shoot gunmen have to write a long report, even though they also helped save the day.
After all, he said, a life is still a life, and a bad person still has human rights.
As such, it doesn’t mean that we as members of the public have the right to harm them even though they committed a crime.
3 men in fight also facing charges
It’s worth noting that the 3 men who fought outside Club Peaches, including Koh, won’t be spared judgement.
They’re also facing criminal cases before the courts, Yahoo reported.
Let’s hope they get the justice that they deserve, especially the one who slashed the others.
Taking the law into your own hands isn’t encouraged
Many may think that Chua, having witnessed a violent crime taking place, did society a favour by catching the perpetrator before he could get away.
However, taking the law into your own hands generally isn’t encouraged, especially if it involves doing harm to someone else – even if that someone else is the criminal.
Perhaps he should have left the job to the police instead, who would have likely tracked the slasher down soon enough.
While the nature of Chua’s punishment hasn’t been confirmed yet, what do you think he deserves for his actions? Do let us know in your comments.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured images adapted from Maick Maciel @ Unsplash and Google Maps. For illustration purposes only.
