A 71-year-old woman splashed warm water on her next-door neighbour of 40 years at a Housing & Development Board (HDB) block in Marine Parade, causing him to have superficial burns.

The woman, Yeo Kaw Guek, also swore at the man, Goh Tok Liang and hit him with a broomstick in a separate incident.

On Jan. 22, 2024, Yeo was fined S$3,000 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to Goh, reported The Straits Times.

Two other charges of using criminal force and contravening the Protection from Harassment Act were also taken into consideration.

Relationship started to strain 2021

The pair’s relationship turned from "strained to sour" in 2021 with both of them provoking and antagonising each other, the prosecution said.

On Dec. 10, 2022, both of them got into an argument after Goh confronted Yeo for throwing joss sticks outside his front door.

During the argument, Yeo took a bowl filled with about 100ml of warm water from her kitchen and splashed it on Goh.

This caused him to have superficial burns on his cheek, neck and upper chest.

Goh then took a shovel from outside his house and used it to gesture at Yeo. He subsequently called the police.

Previously hit him with broomstick, poured Dettol on his legs

This was not the first time Goh called the police on Yeo.

In July 2022, Goh and Yeo got into an argument when the latter left her house while Goh was sweeping the corridor outside his unit.

Yeo swore at Goh, took the broomstick he was holding, and used it to hit him on his back.

In response, Goh pointed his middle finger at Yeo and swore at her as well.

He made a police report the same day and a harassment charge was brought against Yeo for this incident.

Yeo also poured an antiseptic liquid, Dettol, on Goh’s legs from her window in January 2022.

This resulted in the charge of using criminal force.

Fined S$3,000

The prosecution asked for Yeo to be fined S$5,000, explaining that it was to deter her from committing further offences against Goh in the future.

For each offence of voluntarily causing hurt, Yeo could have been sentenced to three years in jail or fined a maximum of S$5,000.

The pair is also involved in a separate court harassment case where Yeo is the claimant. This case will be heard at a tribunal on Jan. 26.

Top photo from Joe Pregadio via Unsplash