S’pore Man Argues With 74-Year-Old Retiree Over Smoking & Causes Him To Fall, Jailed 4 Years

Man Gets 4 Years’ Jail For Charging At Elderly Retiree Who Was Smoking In Hougang

In 2021, Allan Chua Kim Wee, now 36, confronted 74-year-old Ng Sioh Leng for smoking in a non-smoking area in Hougang.

Chua charged at him during their encounter and used his right shoulder to hit his torso.

Ng then suffered a fatal fall, succumbing to his injuries and passing away in Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Pleading guilty to one count of assault in February, he was sentenced to four years in jail.

Man argues with elderly retiree in Hougang for smoking

According to TODAY, Chua was returning home after having breakfast at Hougang Mall on 25 Dec 2021.

He then spotted Ng, who was smoking while sitting at one of the benches of a void deck below Block 328 in Hougang Avenue 5.

As smoking was prohibited in the area, Chua took pictures to file a complaint with authorities and confronted him.

Ng responded by chasing him around a pillar twice and eventually caught up with him with a walking stick in his hand.

When Chua saw Ng was 9m away from him and approaching, he lowered his stance and charged at the retiree, The Straits Times (ST) reports.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen said Chua used his right shoulder to hit him in the stomach. This caused Ng to fall backwards and hit the back of his head on the ground of the void deck.

Man felt “strongly responsible” to the community

Noticing that Ng was unresponsive following the fall, Chua called the police at 10.40am to request medical assistance, according to ST.

He was apologetic and told police that he retaliated in defence when Ng approached him with a stick.

Authorities conveyed Ng to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He had numerous head injuries and passed away after being admitted to an intensive care unit at 10pm.

During earlier proceedings, defence lawyer Ranjit Singh said Chua had a strong sense of civic-mindedness.

He felt “strongly responsible to the community” and wanted to ensure the neighbourhood was “safe and properly maintained”.

Chua would also use the OneService portal to raise an average of three to four concerns per month regarding estate issues, including high-rise littering and dirty public areas.

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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and MS News.