'I hope people don't think I'm a murderer': Man, 30, accused of punching Yakult lady, 70, who died

The man charged over the assault of a 70-year-old Yakult delivery woman who later died in hospital has been remanded further as he was deemed "high risk of public concern".

Lim Chuan Xun, 30, was charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the victim, Jasmine Au, by punching her on the right side of the face.

Au passed away in hospital on Nov. 6 from her injuries.

"I hope people don't think I'm a murderer"

Lim Chuan Xun, 30, who was charged in court, faces a total of six charges, including charges unrelated to Au's assault.

He was previously remanded for investigations.

On a Nov. 22 hearing, the prosecution asked for more time to complete investigations.

However, even though they do not need to remand Lim for further investigations, they asked for Lim's remand to continue as he was assessed by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) as a "high risk of public concern".

The IMH report also stated that he has an "early relapse of mental sickness", according to the prosecution.

Lim, who appeared in court through video conferencing, requested to be offered bail.

"I hope people don't think I'm a murderer," he said. "Just because I was in the lift with the lady."

"I’m a good guy. I hope I can be released."

The judge denied him bail, explaining that he needed to "stabilise” in custody.

Other charges

The other five charges, all filed on Nov. 15, are of two charges under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA), one charge of affray, one charge of rash act endangering the life of others, and one charge of refusing to sign a recorded statement.

Among the five charges, a POHA charge showed that he had allegedly hurled vulgarities at the victim while they were on the ninth floor. The other four charges appear unrelated to the incident and allege that he had committed crimes in the vicinity of the same block since May 2023.

Previous hearing

According to the family member, the family of the victim attended a court hearing for Lim on Nov. 15.

He said that he heard Lim asked for a lawyer upon being notified of the victim's death and had claimed that "he didn't touch her".

He said he also heard Lim saying, "It's just a punch."

The family member understands that the police are conducting a post-mortem and are further investigating the matter.

If convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Lim faces an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and shall also be liable to a fine or caning.

Top photo from Mothership reader and Au's son