Man, 76, pushes man, 80, at Marine Parade S'pore Pools outlet, killing him

A vulgarity-laden altercation between a coffee shop operator and an 80-year-old man at a Singapore Pools outlet in Marine Parade turned fatal when the former got physical.

Ho Ah Wah, 76, punched the victim and pushed him backwards, causing him to fall and hit his head against a wooden cabinet.

The victim, who was a regular customer at Ho's coffee shop, died after being conveyed to hospital.

Ho was sentenced to 22 months' jail on Mar. 10, The Straits Times reported.

Had prior altercation at coffee shop

The court heard that the incident took place at the Singapore Pools outlet at Marine Parade NTUC on May 8, 2022.

Court documents indicated that a few months prior, the victim had stolen some “kuehs” (pastry) from a stall in Ho's coffee shop.

The stall owner, who paid rent to Ho, complained to him about the man's behaviour.

This caused Ho to watch the man closely whenever he visited the coffee shop, which made him unhappy.

On one occasion, the man had asked Ho, "What are you looking at?" in Hokkien, and Ho shot back asking what it was about.

Argued at S'pore Pools outlet

On the fateful day, Ho had gone to the Singapore Pools outlet to place some bets.

After filling up his betting slips, Ho went over to queue up at the payment counter.

On the way, Ho walked past the victim, who asked him in Hokkien, "What are you looking at?"

Ho replied, "Why you always want to talk about me?”

An argument ensued, with the victim shouting a Hokkien vulgarity at Ho, and Ho hurling profanities back at him.

At some point, Ho walked away but returned in anger to confront the victim.

Ho also punched him in the face, which caused the victim to raise his arm in defence.

Ho then told him, "Later I wait for you outside”.

After this, Ho went to make payment but was still angry.

So, while the victim was filling up his betting slips at a table, Ho went over and told him, “You don’t say things about me anymore in the future, I won't be nice to you”.

The fatal incident

CCTV footage then captured Ho pushing the victim's right arm a few times and punching his head.

The victim tried to defend himself but was overpowered by Ho, as many other bystanders at the outlet watched.

During the altercation, a Singapore Pools security officer shouted at Ho to stop but he did not.

At around 11:16am, Ho was seen pushing the victim's chest, which caused him to fall and hit his head against a wooden cabinet.

Ho then tried to leave but was stopped by a security officer from the supermarket.

The officer also alerted the police that a man had been pushed down and had a concussion.

A plastic stool was brought out for the victim to sit on while waiting for the ambulance.

A few minutes later, the victim got up and tried to walk but stumbled backwards and fell on another punter's ankle.

He fell unconscious and was conveyed to Changi General Hospital.

There, the victim was found to have multiple skull fractures and bleeding in the brain, and passed away thereafter.

An autopsy certified that the deceased had died from a head injury, likely from the fall caused by Ho.

While in police custody, Ho was also examined by a doctor but was not found to have any obvious injuries or complaints, apart from elevated blood pressure.

Lower sentence due to accused's health

The prosecution asked for a deterrent sentence of one-and-a-half to two years' jail for Ho, as he had physically assaulted the deceased in public, and in doing so caused the fatal head injury.

The prosecution argued that Ho had "turned to violence" after trading vulgarities with the deceased, returned to confront him a second time, and showed "lack of remorse" by walking away after he fell.

Nonetheless, the prosecution said that they accorded mitigating weight to Ho's poor health.

Ho has prostate cancer, spine conditions affecting his movement, and is scheduled for cataract surgery in both eyes.

Ho pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt which causes grievous hurt on Mar. 10, according to ST.

He was sentenced to 22 months’ jail.

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