S'pore man, 35, stomps on elderly dad's chest for not sharing rental income, fractures his ribs, gets 21 months’ jail

A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to jail for stomping on his father's chest and hitting him multiple times with a remote control after getting upset over rental income.

According to a report by The Straits Times (ST), the incident left his father, then aged 72, with rib fractures and a scalp laceration.

His father is now 75-years-old.

The son, Teo Yao Zhong, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt and was sentenced to 21 months’ jail on Aug. 20.

Upset over rental income

The incident took place in 2023 at the home where Teo lived with his father, ST reported.

The prosecution said Teo’s father had rented out a room in the unit to a tenant to supplement his income.

It was not disclosed in court what either Teo or his father did for a living.

Court documents seen by Mothership showed that before midnight on Jan. 19, Teo became upset because his father had not shared the rental income with him and began throwing household items around the home.

When his father tried to stop him, Teo used a remote control to hit him on the head multiple times.

His father used his arms to defend himself, but tripped over items scattered on the floor and fell.

Teo then used his foot to stomp on his father’s chest while his father tried to push his feet away.

Some objects thrown landed near police officers

Teo eventually stopped the assault and resumed throwing items around the home.

His father then fled the unit, called the police and waited for officers at the void deck.

When police arrived, officers saw injuries on the father's forehead and took him to the emergency department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Meanwhile, other officers attempted to calm Teo down, who continued to behave aggressively inside the unit.

Despite multiple warnings from police, Teo continued throwing items around, including a large television.

Several of the objects landed near the officers.

Teo was arrested and released on bail on Jan. 20, 2023.

Prosecution: father was vulnerable due to his age

The prosecution sought a jail term of between 20 and 21 months for Teo, saying his father was vulnerable because of his age and was unable to stop his son from throwing items around the unit.

Teo, who was unrepresented, said in mitigation that he could not recall what had happened that day, but accepted that he had done wrong and had nothing further to add, ST reported.

At the start of the hearing, Teo had asked for the case to be adjourned to a later date as he needed time to clean his room.

When the judge asked why he had not cleaned it earlier, Teo said he had started cleaning but could not finish because the room was too messy.

The judge rejected his request for an adjournment and proceeded with the hearing.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and may also be fined or caned.