S$5,000 fine for SAF regular who threw hot soup at hawker assistant, scalding her

SINGAPORE — A 28-year-old man was fined S$5,000 on Friday (Feb 18) after throwing a takeaway container of hot soup at a hawker assistant who had gotten his order wrong.

Kelvin Tan Chun Long got upset when the victim prepared fried beancurd instead of his order of fried beancurd skin. It was meant for Tan's four-year-old autistic son who was "quite demanding in terms of food requirements", his lawyer previously said.

The victim suffered a minor burn wound and was given a total of 11 days’ medical leave due to her injury.

Tan, who is a regular with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), pleaded guilty in December last year to voluntarily causing hurt to Madam Tan Moi Moi, 53, by a rash act.

He was fined the maximum amount for the offence. District Judge Ng Peng Hong allowed him to pay the full sum by April and ordered that he serve 10 days' jail if he is unable to do so.

The court earlier heard that Tan had gone to Mdm Tan's stall in a coffee shop at Block 676, Woodlands Drive 71 on June 6, 2020 to get takeaway food. The circuit breaker period that restricted movements and activities due to Covid-19 had just been lifted.

When Tan returned to the stall to collect his order, he realised that Mdm Tan had prepared the wrong thing.

She then told him that she could not redo his order because the food had already been cooked.

Tan got angry and pushed the plastic bag containing his order away from the counter onto the floor.

He then walked to the nearest table where he had placed takeaway food bought from other stalls, picked up a plastic bag with a container of hot soup and threw it at Mdm Tan.

The soup spilled out when the container hit Mdm Tan and she immediately felt a burning sensation on the right side of her waist.

Tan immediately walked away from the stall, but several passers-by who had witnessed the incident chased after him. He returned to the stall and apologised.

Mdm Tan sought medical attention at Khoo Teck Huat Hospital later that day, then went for follow-up treatment at Toa Payoh Polyclinic in the following days. She suffered a superficial partial thickness burn wound.

Tan’s lawyer David Gan previously said that the offences were committed on the spur of the moment, and had urged the court to impose a fine not exceeding S$2,000, because a higher one would lead to Tan losing his job in the SAF.

Those convicted of causing hurt by a rash act can be jailed for up to a year or fined S$5,000, or both.