On Wednesday (9 Oct), Eng Chee Hong, a private-hire driver, was charged with the death of a drink stall assistant.
According to CNA, the 55-year-old had punched the Vietnamese drink stall assistant in the face, which caused him to fall and hit his head on the concrete floor.
The victim, Mr Dao Van Chien, sustained skull fractures and brain injuries, which later resulted to his death.
Eng pled guilty to one count of causing hurt where the hurt turned out to be grievous and one count of drink driving while he was on bail for the first offence.
On 31 Dec of last year, Eng met a few companions to celebrate the coming New Year at a coffee shop located at Block 318 Jurong East Street 31, where the victim worked.
The victim and his colleague frequently mingled with patrons and often shared alcohol with them.
The group subsequently headed to Jolo KTV at Yuan Ching Road to continue their celebrations. The victim and his colleague were reportedly invited to join in the festivity.
A few hours later, Eng reportedly noticed the victim getting increasingly intoxicated, dancing on the stage and even toasting strangers at the other tables.
Worried that the victim might invite trouble, Eng urged him to return to their table.
The victim complied and tried to appease Eng by trying to shake his hands, but Eng declined.
Eng and a few others left the KTV lounge at around 12.30am on 1 Jan, according to CNA.
Sometime after, the victim spotted Eng outside a nearby Sheng Siong supermarket and approached him.
Source: Google Street View
“Brother, let’s drink alcohol,” the victim reportedly said to Eng.
Irked by the victim, Eng had pointed his finger at the drink stall assistant in a fit of fury.
The 55-year-old then shoved the victim’s hands away after he tried to reach out to hold his arm.
He then proceeded to punch the victim’s face.
The blow caused the victim to fall backwards and hit the back of his head on the concrete floor.
Captured on CCTV footage, Eng was caught looking at the victim for a short while before walking away.
Without seeking assistance for the injured victim, Eng drove away to meet his friends at Balmoral Plaza for more drinks instead.
The motionless victim was later discovered by his colleague. He was reportedly bleeding from his mouth.
The Vietnamese national was then rushed to the hospital where he died of a head injury three days later on 4 Jan.
For his actions on New Year’s Eve and drink driving later on while he was out on bail or the first offence, the prosecutor sought a fine of S$3,000, a driving ban of up to thirty months, and a jail term of up to three-and-a-half years.
She highlighted that the victim was the sole breadwinner to his wife and two children in Vietnam.
Additionally, Eng had multiple convictions between 1994 and 2012.
Some of his convictions include attacking public servants, rioting, and voluntarily causing hurt.
However, Eng’s lawyers said those past convictions were dated. They claimed that he had turned over a new leaf after being released from prison in 2017.
His lawyers sought a lower jail term for him, highlighting that he helped raise funds to pay for the victim’s funeral expenses.
Moreover, they explained that Eng had punched the victim in “the spur of the moment”, after having felt “annoyed” annoyed by the victim’s intoxicated behaviour.
They added that Eng has a terminally ill mother whom he looks after, as well as a young son from a previous marriage.
The 55-year-old will be sentenced in court on Thursday (10 Oct).
Also read: Drunk driver hits stroller in Joo Chiat & gets punched by baby’s father, jailed 2 weeks
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Featured image adapted from Google Street View and Google Street View.
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