S'porean man, 23, with special needs, who allegedly punched Catholic priest, facing 22 charges in total

A Singaporean man who assaulted 12 people, including punching a Catholic priest in February, was newly charged with using his walking stick to strike another man on the back of his head at St Andrew's Cathedral in October 2023.

He was already facing 21 charges since August, which include voluntarily causing hurt, using criminal force, causing public nuisance, and causing mischief by damaging property.

Huang Guang Zheng, 23, was first arrested on Feb. 9, 2025 after he hit Father Cary Chan in the face at the Church of the Holy Spirit, which he regularly attended.

Besides assault, he was also accused that day of behaving in an aggressive manner, toppling a potted plant, and causing damage to a wooden door in the church by slamming it against the wall six times.

Chan told The Straits Times (ST) then that Huang is visually impaired and has special needs.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the latest charge came on Sep. 29.

Other charges

Five of Huang's previous charges involved offences that happened on Aug. 17, 2024, at the 7th Day Adventist Church.

That morning, he allegedly hit two people in the face and kicked another in the leg.

He also allegedly caused "annoyance" to the church attendees by shouting loudly during the church service, and shattered a glass door after slamming it, according to court documents.

Additionally, on separate incidents in 2024 and 2025, Huang was charged for assaulting eight people at two MRT stations, on a moving MRT train, and at hawker centres.

He also spat on a cashier counter and toppled a stack of coffee cups at another hawker centre.

Court hearing

At court on Sep. 29, Huang raised his voice and demanded the charges be dropped, ST reported.

Huang's mother, who accompanied him, apologised to the judge as he continued shouting.

She cried while telling the judge, "Your Honour, each time he comes to court, he has all these meltdowns, and it’ll risk him being arrested again. We are going through a lot of stress and anxiety because of this."

Huang's lawyer requested for Huang’s attendance to be dispensed with, which would exempt him from attending court proceedings, as his lawyer could be there on his behalf.

The judge allowed this, and told Huang's mother to "please take care of him", as quoted by ST.

His lawyer also said that a forensics report was being prepared for Huang, and sought an adjournment, which was granted until Nov. 10.

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