Man, 71, thinks woman mocking him for eating without dentures on in Toa Payoh, assaults her, gets 7 weeks’ jail

A 71-year-old rag and bone man was sentenced to seven weeks' jail for assaulting a 67-year-old woman who he thought was laughing at him for having his meal without his dentures on.

The offender, Yeo Chuan Bock, was not represented by a lawyer, Shin Min Daily News reported.

He pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt and one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt on Feb. 28.

Two other charges were taken into consideration during his sentencing.

What happened

According to court documents seen by Shin Min, the incident took place at the Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market & Hawker Centre at around 2:47pm on Jul. 10, 2024.

The perpetrator and victim did not know each other.

Both parties lived nearby and encountered each other at the food centre.

Thought woman was mocking him

Yeo was having lunch that day and the victim, a retiree, was seated at a table nearby.

He thought that the woman was laughing at him for having his meal without his dentures on, and an argument ensued.

The victim then gave Yeo the middle finger.

Dispute escalated

She then thought that Yeo was filming her, so she stood up and filmed him in what she assumed was a tit-for-tat exchange.

When Yeo saw the woman filming him from a distance, he got up and walked over to confront her.

Yeo then repeatedly pushed the woman's arm and pointed her phone at her face.

He then pushed her against a table and pressed her face into it.

Yeo subsequently let the woman go but she kept confronting him, and he used his left hand to strangle her neck.

Passers-by tried to break up altercation

Although passers-by tried to stop the altercation, Yeo and the woman continued to shout at each other, reported Shin Min.

Yeo then lunged forward and pushed the woman, which resulted in her falling to the ground.

She was unable to get up even when passers-by assisted her.

At the time, Yeo was still shouting at the woman.

After pulling him aside, members of the public called the police.

Woman suffered fractures

According to Shin Min, the victim suffered leg and foot fractures and was hospitalised for 13 days after surgery.

She was then transferred to Ren Ci Community Hospital for 45 days for rehabilitation.

Her medical expenses amounted to more than S$2,475.

Yeo has since made restitution to the woman.

Yeo 'remorseful' for his actions

During court proceedings, Yeo pleaded for leniency, stating that he did not know why the woman, who is a stranger to him, had wanted to humiliate him, reported Shin Min.

He claimed that he did not want to engage her initially, and he only wanted her to stop after she kept on repeating herself.

Choked with sobs, Yeo said that he felt remorseful for his actions and believed that he could have handled the situation differently at the time.

He added that this was the first time he had been in trouble with the law and promised that such incidents would not happen again.

Top photo via Google Maps