SINGAPORE: In the heat of an argument, a 73-year-old retiree pushed a 90-year-old man, who fell backwards and hit his head on the concrete floor.
Toh Teck Chye did not help the older man but left him lying on the floor. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he died of a head injury.
Toh was jailed for two years and four months on Thursday (Feb 13). He pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt that resulted in grievous hurt.
The victim, Mr Choo Chin Nam, was suffering from dementia and used a walking stick to move around. He lived alone.
The two men did not know each other, but Toh had previously seen Mr Choo around Block 3, Marsiling Road, where the incident happened on Oct 15, 2023.
That day, Mr Choo was sitting on a bench at the block’s void deck, outside a senior activity centre.
Around 11.30am, Toh walked past. Mr Choo suddenly started shouting at Toh and claiming that he owed him S$100 (US$75). Toh turned back and they started arguing.
As the argument got more heated, Mr Choo stood up and Toh made animated gestures towards him. Mr Choo also swung his walking stick at Toh twice.
Toh grabbed the walking stick and both men started jostling over it. Toh then let go of the stick and pushed Mr Choo to the ground.
Mr Choo fell backwards, hit the back of his head on the ground and lay motionless.
Toh looked at Mr Choo for a short time, then left without helping him.
Some minutes later, Toh was at the void deck again and saw a few passers-by with Mr Choo.
He assumed that the passers-by had called for an ambulance and did not interact with them, instead going to a shop nearby to buy cigarettes and instant noodles.
When paramedics arrived at about 11.45am, Mr Choo was still lying on the ground. He could sit up and open his eyes but did not respond to questions.
There was no blood on the ground, but there was vomit. Mr Choo also vomited several times in the presence of the paramedics.
Toh passed by again and saw the paramedics, but did not interact with them and went home.
Mr Choo was examined at the emergency department and warded. He died at 8.24pm that night.
Twenty minutes later, the hospital alerted the police because the manner or cause of Mr Choo’s death was not known.
Mr Choo’s autopsy found that he had suffered a 19cm-long skull fracture.
Investigators identified Toh after trawling through closed-circuit television footage. He was arrested at home after midnight on Oct 16, 2023.
Toh “intended to cause hurt that was not grievous, but the hurt that he actually caused was grievous, as he caused the deceased to sustain a head injury which led to his death”, Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie said.
Mr Cheah sought up to three years and two months’ jail. He said it could reasonably be foreseen that Toh’s actions would cause some grievous hurt to a 90-year-old who relied on a cane to walk.
However, he accepted that “given the nature of the once-off push, it would be difficult to argue that death was reasonably foreseeable from a single push”.
He also noted that Toh, who was represented by lawyers from the Public Defender’s Office, indicated his plea of guilt at an early stage.
Toh could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000 or received both penalties for his offence.
