Singapore’s hawkers can sometimes hold an unpleasant or confrontational attitude toward others. However, one Tanglin Halt hawker took things too far when he attacked another with a club.
Feeling displeased with a rival fish soup stall owner, 71-year-old fish soup hawker Peck Chuan Ann grabbed a wooden pole with a protruding nail.
He came up behind his rival, Mr Wee Kai Xin, and struck him multiple times with the nailed end. Mr Wee suffered a fractured skull and permanent damage to his right wrist.
Peck fled back to his flat but eventually surrendered to the police. The court sentenced him to 16 months’ jail.
The attack occurred in Tanglin Halt Food Centre at Commonwealth Drive, a now-closed hawker centre with a rich history.
Peck Chuan Ann, now 71, owned a fish soup stall there. He held a rivalry with Mr. Punnataro Wee Kai Xin, 51, who owned a separate fish soup stall with his wife.
The two “previously had disagreements”, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
However, the unfriendly rivalry turned violent on the morning of 8 Apr 2022. Mr Wee uttered something to Peck when passing by the latter’s stall at around 7am.
CCTV footage then showed Peck picking up a wooden pole in the wash basin area. Peck checked for passers-by before taking the 71cm pole, with a rusty nail protruding from one end.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
Peck subsequently approached Mr Wee from behind. The victim was cleaning vegetables outside his own stall, reported CNA.
Peck violently struck Mr Wee in the head multiple times with the end featuring the nail, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. Mr Wee also began to bleed from his scalp.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
Mr Wee’s wife, Ms Wang Wei, heard the commotion from inside the stall. She rushed out and tried to grab at the pole, with Peck attempting to hit her with it.
Ms Wang managed to grab ahold of the wooden pole. Her husband regained consciousness and managed to help Ms Wang disarm their attacker.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the two pushed Peck over, injuring him as well.
When Peck rose to his feet, he tried to grab the pole once more, but Ms Wang hit him on the shoulder. Peck then fled the hawker centre.
At the hospital, doctors assessed Mr Wee’s injuries and determined that he suffered scalp laceration and intracerebral bleeding. His skull, left hand, and right wrist were also fractured.
They later also found his right wrist joint’s impairment likely permanent.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
Peck returned to his flat and sought help from his daughter. She advised him to surrender to the police. Due to this, Peck turned himself in at a police station later that day.
Peck pleaded guilty in court on 19 Sep 2023 to voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
The prosecutor requested between 18 and 22 months’ jail, highlighting the severity of Mr Wee’s injuries.
The defence lawyer, however, argued that Peck suffered from adjustment disorder with a depressed mood at the time. According to The Straits Times, he also claimed that Mr Wee provoked Peck before the offence.
As such, he sought a lighter sentence of between 9 and 12 months’ jail for his client.
On Thursday (5 Oct), the judge sentenced Peck to 16 months’ jail.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.
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