12 weeks' jail for 60-year-old who used broken beer bottle to slash man's face in coffee shop scuffle

SINGAPORE — While trying to calm down a 63-year-old man who was angry at a coffee shop owner after getting locked inside the washroom, Yieh Kan Wah, 60, ended up getting agitated himself.

Yieh got into a scuffle with the man, punching him twice in the face and causing his nose to bleed. He also used a fragment of a broken glass beer bottle to hit the man's face, leaving a 7cm laceration, among other injuries.

On Tuesday (Nov 22), Yieh pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt and was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail. A second charge of voluntarily causing hurt and a charge of affray were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He will begin his sentence on Dec 13 after his request to defer his sentence was granted due to a medical condition.

WHAT HAPPENED

On April 21, 2021, at around 9pm, Yieh had been drinking with acquaintances at a coffee shop along Beach Road. 

Mr Tan Swee Seng, 63, was also at the coffee shop with his acquaintances. At one point, he found himself accidentally locked inside the coffee shop’s restroom, and was let out only about 20 minutes later.

Unhappy over the incident, Mr Tan remonstrated with the owner of the coffee shop. That was when Yieh stepped forward to try to calm Mr Tan down while standing one table’s distance away, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Magdalene Huang.

However, a dispute broke out between the duo and they started scuffling. Yieh punched Mr Tan’s face at least twice before they were separated by another person.

Yieh then broke free from the person that separated them and approached Mr Tan again, picking up a glass beer bottle when he did so. However, both men were unable to get close to each other.

As Yieh retreated to his table, Mr Tan started to approach him. Yieh then dropped the glass bottle and picked up a fragment of the shattered glass from the floor before attacking Mr Tan’s face with it.

Yieh stopped only when his friend intervened.

Mr Tan sustained multiple cuts on his face, including one that was 7cm near his ear. He had to undergo plastic surgery for the wounds.

ACCUSED HAS SUFFERED POOR HEALTH SINCE OFFENCE

DPP Huang sought a sentence of at least 16 weeks, noting that Yieh had used a weapon to cause harm and that the injuries Mr Tan sustained were at a “vulnerable part” of his body.

She also told the court that Yieh has had multiple past brushes with the law, though none involved voluntarily causing hurt.

Yieh’s lawyer, Mr Anil Singh of Kerta & Sandhu LLC, asked for leniency, saying that his client was intoxicated and had become agitated when Mr Tan had allegedly shouted vulgarities about Yieh’s mother.

However, DPP Huang clarified that police investigations about the alleged vulgarities were inconclusive as some witnesses claimed that Mr Tan had shouted at Yieh, while others did not.

Mr Singh added that on Nov 18 Yieh had compensated Mr Tan S$970 for his medical bills.

“About a year after the incident, Yieh was diagnosed with stroke and bladder tumour. He has been left reeling from poor health since,” added Mr Singh.

In her sentencing, District Judge Wong Li Tein said that Yieh's culpability is high as he had used a weapon and targeted Mr Tan’s face, which is a "vulnerable" part of his body.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Yieh could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up S$5,000, or both.