Bystander Beats Up Coffee Shop Customer For Being Upset With Eatery Owner
After being trapped in a toilet of a coffee shop for 20 minutes, 63-year-old Tan Swee Seng confronted the owner.
A bystander, Yieh Kan Wah, 60, attempted to calm him down. Unfortunately, the situation worsened, and the victim sustained injuries from their ensuing fight.
The state court has sentenced Yieh to 12 weeks of jail for one count of voluntarily causing hurt, taking another two charges into consideration.
Man fights coffee shop customer for altercation with owner
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports that the incident occurred on 21 Apr 2021 in a coffee shop along Block 1 Beach Road.
Both Yieh and Tan were there with their respective group of friends. At around 9.15pm, Tan entered the washroom of the coffee shop and was accidentally locked inside.
He became free 20 minutes later and was consequently upset with the eatery’s owner. Yieh, who was two tables away, intervened to try and calm him down.
However, both men began to argue. Yieh then grew agitated, and they started fighting, with Yieh punching Tan’s face twice.
Slashed at face with bottle shard
According to TODAY, another individual separated the two men. Tan’s nose was bleeding at this point, but Yieh tried to approach him anyway, picking up a glass beer bottle as well.
Others at the coffee shop were able to keep them apart from each other. Yieh retreated with the bottle until Tan advanced towards him.
He subsequently dropped the item, picking up a shattered fragment of glass. When Tan lunged at him, Yieh slashed at his face and left behind a 7cm-long laceration.
Yieh continued to assault him as he fell to the ground. Eventually, his friend pulled him away.
Victim required surgery for injuries
CNA reports that Tan sustained bruising and several facial wounds, which required surgery. He racked up a total of S$968.55 in medical expenses, with Yieh paying him S$970 for compensation.
Asking for at least 16 weeks’ jail, the prosecution slammed Yieh for employing dangerous methods to harm Tan, aiming his attacks at a vulnerable part of his body. However, she acknowledged that Tan was also aggressive.
Yieh’s lawyer requested six weeks’ jail, saying that Tan was agitated and shouting loudly at the time of the assault.
This disrupted Yieh and his friends, leading to the exacerbation of the conflict.
Tan had additionally used Hokkien vulgarities to target Yieh’s mother when Yieh was attempting to calm him down.
Yieh was also remorseful for his actions and had used his “already depleted savings” to compensate Tan for the incident.
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