Jail for man who stamped on victim’s face in viral Golden Mile video

SINGAPORE — He first assaulted a man at a night club in Orchard Plaza, was arrested by police and placed on bail.

Four months later, Wee Boon How attacked another man at Golden Mile Complex, raining punches and stamping on the man's face as he laid unconscious on the ground. A video of the attack later went viral online.

Following the incident, Wee was charged in court and released on court bail. But he was out creating trouble again, beating up another victim at popular nightspot St James Power Station, which has since shut down.

On Tuesday (Feb 19), Wee, who has an IQ of 60, was jailed three years and nine months for his offences. The 24-year-old had pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt and two other rioting charges.

GOLDEN MILE ATTACK

The court heard that on Oct 11 in 2017, Wee and his friend were walking to a pub in Golden Mile Complex when they crossed paths with Mr Bong Hong Yun, 26.

Wee confronted Mr Bong because he felt that the latter was staring at him. They got into an argument and Wee charged at the victim.

As Mr Bong’s friend tried to prevent the assault, Mr Bong managed to punch Wee in the face, angering him even more. The two men began punching and kicking each other, while their friends tried in vain to separate them.

Sometime during the fight, Mr Bong fell to the ground and Wee persistently punched him until he became unconscious.

Wee then stamped on and kicked Mr Bong’s face several times in an attack that lasted about four minutes. Wee then left the scene with his friend.

Mr Bong was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was warded for two days before being readmitted to undergo facial reconstruction.

OTHER ASSAULTS

On April 12 in 2017, Wee went to Queen’s Club at Orchard Plaza with two friends Tan Chee Hock and Chua Zhi Jiang.

His friends first got into a fight with Mr Lim Jun Dong, 20, before Wee rushed towards Mr Lim and threw a punch at him. The three men continued attacking Mr Lim before he ran into a booth.

Security officers from the club tried to intervene, but the trio caught up with the victim when he left the booth and hit him with a mug and bottle. At least three more unknown male attackers joined in the assault.

This lasted for four minutes before the club’s assistant manager intervened and called the police. Wee was questioned by the police and released on police bail.

While on court bail for the Golden Mile Complex assault, Wee and two friends went clubbing at St James Power Station on Oct 28, 2017 and got into a fight with another man.

NO PLACE FOR ‘WANTON GROUP VIOLENCE’

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Zhou Yihong said that Wee did not learn his lesson as he reoffended while on bail. In April 2016, he was jailed 18 months for rioting and possessing a dangerous weapon.

“You can see from the footage, the savageness, protraction and absolute violence he used, even when the victim fell on the ground. He would not let go,” DPP Zhou said.

In mitigation, Wee’s lawyer Ong Peng Boon said that his client, who has a two-year-old son, suffers from low IQ and stopped studying in Secondary 2 to become a door-to-door salesman.

The lawyer added that Wee’s mother deserted his family when he was seven years old. He also gives some money to his elderly father. Before being remanded, Wee worked as an assistant at an economic rice stall.

In sentencing Wee, District Judge Marvin Bay described the Golden Mile attack as "barbaric", noting that the prosecution had been “extremely moderate” in not asking for caning.

“There is no place for acts of wanton group violence, especially in a crowded public place in modern-day Singapore, and especially for trivial reasons such as staring or swearing incidents, where in this case the violence was truly grossly disproportionate to any known provocation,” the judge added.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Wee could have been jailed up to 10 years and fined or caned. For rioting, he could have been jailed up to seven years and caned.