Jail for man who whacked another with stick and baseball bat for misidentifying him as cough syrup seller
SINGAPORE — After being wrongly identified as the man who was paid S$1,500 for cough syrup, Koh Hee Yang got into a quarrel with his accuser and attacked the person with a wooden stick and baseball bat.
- Koh Hee Yang was misidentified by Mr David Vijaysurya as the man to whom he paid S$1,500 for cough syrup that he did not receive
- Mr David then demanded to meet Koh at a coffee shop where a quarrel ensued between both men
- Mr David, who brandished a penknife at Koh, ended up getting hit on the head and body with a wooden stick and baseball bat by Koh
- As a result of the attack, Mr David sustained multiple injuries including cuts on his scalp
- Koh was sentenced to eight weeks' jail
21 Nov 2023 06:56PM
(Updated: 27 Jan 2025 03:31PM)
SINGAPORE — After being wrongly identified as the man who was paid S$1,500 for cough syrup, Koh Hee Yang got into a quarrel with his accuser and attacked the person with a wooden stick and baseball bat.
Koh, a 22-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to eight weeks' jail on Tuesday (Nov 21). He had pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt with weapons of offence earlier this year.
A probation suitability report was previously called but Koh was assessed to be unsuitable for this sentencing option usually offered to young offenders between 16 and 21 years old that does not result in a recorded criminal conviction.
Court documents prepared by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Adelle Tai showed that on the evening of Feb 24 this year, Koh received a call from his friend who informed him that someone named David Vijaysurya was looking for a man named "Ah Ben".
Koh's friend Danish Ravindran had heard from Mr David that he was angry with "Ah Ben" because he had paid "Ah Ben" S$1,500 for cough syrup but received nothing in return.
Suspecting that "Ah Ben" referred to Koh, Mr Danish handed his phone to Mr David and switched to video mode so that he would be able to identify Koh.
Mr David then misidentified Koh as "Ah Ben" and started using vulgar language on Koh before demanding to meet him at a coffee shop located at Lorong 18 Geylang Road.
The trio met at the coffee shop where Koh denied having had any past dealings with him and maintained that he had never met Mr David before.
A quarrel soon ensued between the both of them.
Mr David then took out a penknife to brandish the fully extended blade at Koh.
Koh reacted by heading to a counter at the coffee shop to take out a wooden stick and baseball bat.
Koh later admitted that both weapons were kept at the coffee shop because they might come in handy in the event that "there are troublemakers".
Court documents did not state how he managed to keep the weapons at the coffee shop.
Seeing Mr David move closer towards him with the penknife, Koh walked towards him and swung the wooden stick, aimed at Mr David's head and upper body area.
Mr David held out his hands to defend himself as he moved away from Koh and his friend.
However, the duo followed Mr David where Koh used the stick to hit Mr David on his upper body area.
The impact caused the stick to break and Mr Danish then handed the baseball bat to Koh.
When Mr David's back was facing Koh, he swung the baseball bat to hit him on the back of his head.
Mr David stumbled forward and started to bleed from his head. Seeing this, Koh called the police.
Mr David was then taken to the hospital where he was found to have sustained multiple injuries, which included a 7cm-long cut on his scalp and bruising around his head.
Koh was arrested the next day.
'RELENTLESS, BRUTAL AND VICIOUS'
Despite his relatively young age, DPP Tai said that Koh should not be regarded as a youth offender where rehabilitation is a key sentencing consideration. In seeking eight to 10 weeks' jail, she stressed that the attack by Koh was relentless, brutal and vicious. Even when the wooden stick broke, that did not stop Koh from persisting in following the victim and hitting him with the baseball bat, DPP Tai noted. She added that the offence also took place in full public view, which would warrant a deterrent sentence. For voluntarily causing hurt with the stick and bat, Koh could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined or caned, or with any combination of these punishments.
Source: TODAY
