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Bad blood boils over: Man who slashed acquaintance with chopper gets jail

SINGAPORE — A 58-year-old unemployed man had been feuding with a neighbourhood acquaintance for more than a year.

SINGAPORE — An unemployed man had been feuding with a neighbourhood acquaintance for more than a year.

On the evening of Feb 20 last year, however, the bad blood between the two men took a violent turn when Tan Kok Ann used a chopper to slash Tan Beng Yian outside a supermarket.

The younger Tan, 58, who is unemployed, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ jail on Friday (March 1) by District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan. This includes a six-month sentence imposed in lieu of caning, as Tan is above 50 years of age and cannot be caned.

He was also ordered to compensate the 69-year-old victim of nearly S$1,150.

In January, Tan admitted to one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the older man.

Court documents revealed that both men were in conflict since the 2017 Chinese New Year period, after a physical altercation arising from a petty argument. It is not known what their feud was about.

On Feb 20 last year at around 7pm, Tan and his wife were walking to the NTUC FairPrice supermarket at Aljunied Ave 2, when they crossed paths with Mr Tan.

Tan was carrying a plastic bag which contained the chopper wrapped in newspaper.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ng Jun Chong said: “(He) had intended to pass the chopper to the Indonesian maid working at his mother’s house, as she had previously asked for a knife to cut vegetables and fish.” 

Feeling angry from their earlier altercation, Tan walked towards Mr Tan and swung the chopper repeatedly at him.

Mr Tan tried to fend off the attack and ended up sustaining a deep gash in his right forearm.

DPP Ng said in court that at the time of the attack, there was a young family standing a metre away from Tan. “It was fortuitous that no passers-by were hurt,” the prosecutor said.

Thereafter, Tan left the scene, yelling and gesticulating at Mr Tan.

Tan was soon arrested by the police and his chopper was seized.

Mr Tan was sent to hospital, where medical examinations revealed that he had a 12cm-long slash wound and bone fractures. His fingers were also permanently impaired.

Mr Tan was warded for seven days and given a month of hospitalisation leave.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Tan could have been jailed up to 15 years.

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