S'pore PR, 33, slaps church attendees after he was stopped from taking free bible, gets 5 weeks' jail

After being denied a free bible at Singapore Life Church, a man felt wronged and assaulted five congregants on his way out of the church.

CNA reported that Wee Soon Ming, a 33-year-old Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident (PR), slapped two of the victims hard enough to cause injuries.

Both these victims were women, and there was no prior dispute or confrontation between them and Wee, according to the state prosecuting officer.

He had assaulted them out of anger, as he was not permitted to take a bible, the officer said, adding that there is no evidence that his actions were religiously motivated.

Wee pleaded guilty to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt to the two victims, while another four charges involving the other victims were taken into consideration.

On Jun. 22, he was sentenced to five weeks in prison, with effect from May 3, the day of the incident when he was arrested.

Previously allowed to take Bibles

According to court documents, Wee had previously visited Singapore Life Church occasionally, usually on weekdays.

He took free Bibles from the church several times.

Once, the church pastor stopped him from taking many bibles but allowed him to take one or two, and Wee complied.

On the morning of May 3, he went to the church wanting a free bible, but was not permitted one, and felt aggrieved as a result.

The first victim

The court documents went into detail about two of the five assaults.

The first involved two women Wee was unacquainted with – a 65-year-old Indonesian and her daughter-in-law.

They had just entered the foyer of the church to attend the service when Wee was walking out hastily.

As he passed them, he suddenly slapped the older woman hard on her face with his hand, then slapped the daughter-in-law on the left side of her head.

Then, he went out the main entrance.

The older woman bled from her nose due to the assault and was later brought by paramedics to a hospital's emergency department to be treated for head trauma.

The medical examination at the hospital found that she had bruises and swelling around her eye and on her cheek, tenderness around her right cheekbone and nasal bridge, and a chipped tooth.

She was discharged in a stable condition that same day with seven days of hospitalisation leave. She did not wish to seek compensation for her medical treatment, according to court documents.

The second victim

After the first assault, as he left the main entrance, Wee came across a 55-year-old woman entering the church, and slapped her too.

He abruptly used his hand to slap the back of the woman's head and right shoulder, then fled the scene.

The victim suffered soreness at the back of her head, but when she saw a doctor the next day, she was informed that there was no cause for concern. She also did not wish to seek compensation from Wee.

Among other victims that day was a 25-year-old man, whom Wee forcefully pushed on his chest, such that he hit against a metal gate.

Psychiatric evaluation

Wee was arrested after a member of the public called the police about him attacking and injuring a woman at the church.

The police arrested him at his residence that afternoon after establishing his identity.

He was later remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for a forensic psychiatric evaluation, and was assessed to have a mild intellectual disability at and around the time of the offence.

However, the state prosecuting officer asserted that there was no contributory link between his mild intellectual disability and his offending.

He was aware of the legal and moral wrongfulness of his actions, and he was not of unsound mind at the time, the officer said.