S'porean man, 38, throws soju bottle at bus after man on board pointed middle finger

While coming down the stairs of a bus with his friend, a man in Singapore ran into another passenger and his wife, who was climbing up the stairs.

The two groups got into a verbal altercation with vulgarities thrown at each other before the man and his friends finally alighted the bus.

While walking along the pavement, the group looked up to see that the passenger was flashing a middle finger towards them.

Angered, the man flung a glass bottle of soju he had with him towards the passenger and his wife, who were seated on the second deck of the bus.

The wife, who was sitting next to the window, sustained facial wounds that had to be stitched up.

Quztaza Kamarudin, 38, was arrested three days after the incident, which happened on Jul. 5, 2025.

While out on bail on Jul. 26, he stole a Chivas Bottle from a 7-11 store.

The Singaporean pleaded guilty to one count each of causing hurt to the woman by performing a rash act, committing mischief and theft on Dec. 16.

Other charges, including stealing from a bakery, harassing a person by use of insulting language and punching another person, were kept in consideration during sentencing.

Threw soju bottle

Quztaza boarded bus service 190 in Bukit Panjang at around 5:30 pm on Jul. 5, and sat on the upper deck of the vehicle.

He had with him a bottle of soju, which he was drinking from, according to court documents.

When the bus reached a stop near The Heeren shopping mall, he and his friends went to alight.

While he was about to walk down from the upper deck, Lim Phang Kai, 60, and his wife were coming up and blocked his way.

Quztaza and Lim had a verbal altercation and exchanged vulgarities before parting ways.

Later, Quztaza saw Lim pointing his middle finger at them from the window and was angered by the gesture.

He then threw the soju bottle towards the window where Lim was seated, and it broke through the window, hitting Lim's wife on the left side of her cheek.

Victim had facial wounds

Lim then reported the matter to the police, and his wife was taken to the hospital, where her wounds were sutured.

A medical report stated that she had multiple lacerations on the left cheek with mild oozing of blood, as well as abrasion wounds over the overlying skin.

She was later discharged and given five days of medical leave.

Quztaza’s actions also caused more than S$2,700 in damages to the bus.

At the time of the hearing, he had yet to make any restitution.

Stole whisky bottle while out on bail

Quztaza was charged in court on Jul. 9 and was released on bail.

While out on bail, he stole a bottle of whisky from a 7-11 store near Boat Quay at around 1:30 am on Jul. 26.

The bottle of Chivas Regal was worth S$78.

Court documents said Quztaza wanted to drink alcohol to relieve his stress, but it was past the legal time allowed for him to purchase alcohol.

As such, he took the Chivas Bottle and hid it inside his pocket and walked out of the store.

A manager noticed the bottle missing and saw on CCTV footage that Quztaza was near the liquor shelf.

He saw Quztaza at a McDonald's nearby and reported the matter to the police.

He was then arrested.

His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 24, 2025.

Top photos from Xiaohongshu and SPF