Woman fined S$5,000 for slapping 8-year-old girl who accidentally stepped on her foot in MRT

The girl was taken to hospital by her mother.

Matthias Ang | June 19, 2021, 11:55 AM

A woman in Singapore was fined S$5,000 on June 18 for slapping an eight-year-old girl in the face on a MRT train on Jul. 15, 2020, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

Connie Soh, 45, had previously pleaded guilty in May to voluntarily causing hurt, with the prosecution calling her public action "objectively disproportionate".

What happened on the MRT?

The incident took place after the girl and her mother boarded the MRT train at Choa Chu Kang station that afternoon.

The girl accidentally stepped on Soh's foot in the process, and apologised.

However, Soh did not hear the apology as she was talking on her phone at the time.

Soh then confronted the girl's mother, and the two began to argue over whether the girl had apologised.

In the course of the argument, Soh also poked the nose of the girl's mother.

When the girl and her mother proceeded to exit the train carriage at the next station, Soh slapped the girl to try and prevent her from leaving without apologising.

The girl then began to cry, and her mother called the police.

The mother brought her daughter to the hospital, where a doctor noted a bruise on the girl's left cheek, and gave her a two-day medical certificate.

Under the Penal Code, a person charged with voluntarily causing hurt can be jailed up to three years and fined up to S$5,000.

In addition, they can face double the maximum penalty for hurting a child below 14.

Top image Mothership file photo