S'porean, 26, punches & kicks ex-girlfriend after another man gifted her flowers, gets 1 week's jail

A 26-year-old Singaporean man was drinking with his friends at a club in Orchard at around 3am on Sep. 12, 2023, when he saw another patron buying flowers for his ex-girlfriend.

Around an hour and a half later, the man, Zachary Chung, also saw his ex-girlfriend, a 40-year-old South Korean national, leaving the club in a taxi with the said patron.

Burning with jealousy, Chung punched and kicked his ex-girlfriend's body, including her face and head, after she returned to her residence at around 5:30am.

After the assault, he also dragged his ex-girlfriend into her unit and cut her clothes, dress, and a soft toy.

Later that day, Chung's ex-girlfriend felt bodily pain from the assault, and Chung dropped her off at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) at around 4:10pm.

Upon examining her injuries, a doctor at the hospital lodged a police report.

Remained in touch after break-up

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Chung and the victim began dating sometime in March 2022.

Around May 2023, they ended their relationship but decided to keep in touch.

Chung also stayed over at the victim's residence on around three to four occasions from May 2023 to the day of the incident.

Just days before the assault, the victim also quarrelled with Chung as he was seeing another female.

Patron bought victim flowers at club she was working at

Court documents stated that the victim was working at the club where Chung visited with his friends during the early hours of Sep. 12, 2023.

When Chung saw the patron gifting her flowers, he followed suit and splurged S$1,314 on the purchase.

According to CNA, it is a socially sanctioned practice for patrons to do so for hostesses and female performers at nightclubs.

However, court documents did not specify the victim's occupation at the time.

Asked victim for identity of patron

After the victim left the club and returned to her residence, she was unable to find the key, which she had placed in a shoe outside her unit.

Later on, Chung came out of the lift, holding the victim's key to the residence.

He then began assaulting her while asking her for the identity of the patron who had shared the taxi with her earlier that day.

Victim sustained multiple injuries

After assaulting the victim, dragging her inside her residence, and cutting her belongings, Chung stayed over at the residence with the victim.

When she began experiencing bodily pain from the assault, Chung dropped her at TTSH, where she was admitted to the Emergency Diagnostic and Therapeutic Centre for further monitoring.

According to a medical report penned by a doctor, the victim sustained injuries in multiple parts of her body.

These included bruising and swelling over her left hand and tenderness over her left neck, chest, lower back, buttocks, left ankle, and foot.

As a result, the victim was given five days' hospitalisation leave from Sep. 12 to Sep. 16, 2023.

She was discharged on Sep. 13 with follow-up appointments.

Victim suffered displaced fillers

When the victim was handed her medical bills, which amounted to S$2,411.05, she realised she did not have enough money and decided to reach out to Chung.

It was then that Chung made a partial restitution of S$1,650.

However, her medical bills were not the only damage the victim had to bear.

As her fillers from a cosmetics procedure were moved out of place due to Chung's assault on her face, the victim had to return to Korea before she could resume work.

Eventually, she underwent medical treatment for the displaced filler in Korea and was able to return to work after returning to Singapore around a month later on Oct. 17, 2023.

Sentenced to 1 week in jail

Chung was sentenced to one week in jail on Nov. 20 after pleading guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt, reported CNA.

Another charge of mischief was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

During court proceedings, Chung's lawyer said that he "acted out of a loss of control over his emotions" and the assault was more of a "frenzy" rather than a targeted attack.

The lawyer also claimed that Chung did not try to ambush the victim at her residence, as he "had an arrangement" to meet her there.

According to the lawyer, Chung's visit was for a "social purpose", and he was "for all intents and purposes a welcome guest at her place".

For every count of voluntarily causing hurt, Chung could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

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