Man jailed after elderly father called police on him thrice for fighting, drunken behaviour

SINGAPORE: An elderly man called the police three times on his 50-year-old son, who fought and repeatedly caused a commotion while drunk. 

The son, Tan Hock Lai, was on Wednesday (Aug 31) jailed for four weeks.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of committing a public nuisance and disturbing the public peace. Another three charges were considered for sentencing.

The court heard that Tan and his 70-year-old father lived together in a flat on the ground floor of a public housing block.

Around 3am on Nov 2 last year, Tan returned home drunk and started throwing things around the flat. 

Tan's father was irritated by this and chased him out of the unit. Tan repeatedly banged on the door and window and shouted loudly, demanding to be let in.

His father called the police, telling them: "My son every night drunk come and disturb me. I cannot stand it already."

The police also received calls from residents nearby. When they arrived, Tan was still banging on the door and shouting loudly, and the window had been smashed. They arrested him.

Three days later, after drinking again, Tan got into a fight with a man at a ground floor staircase in Toa Payoh for no apparent reason, according to court documents.

The man was helping Tan to his feet after he tried to stand up but stumbled. Tan's phone fell out in the process, and he suddenly punched the man's head several times.

The man fended Tan off, but Tan adopted a boxing stance to challenge him. The man then retaliated by punching Tan's face.

The fight continued for about five minutes until the police arrived. Tan was arrested again as he kept trying to confront the other man while their statements were being taken.

In the last incident on Mar 24 this year, Tan returned home and asked his father for S$10. When his father refused, Tan started shouting loudly.

Exiting the flat, Tan threw some bamboo laundry poles and a laundry rack on the ground, and kicked over a dustbin.

The commotion attracted the neighbours' attention. When one of them told Tan to stop his antics, he went over to her flat and challenged her to a fight.

Police arrived shortly after and it was observed that Tan reeked heavily of alcohol.

Tan, who did not have a lawyer, was a food delivery rider at the time.

He told the court that he was emotionally affected by his wife's sudden request for a divorce when he committed the offences. Tan asked for a lighter sentence and told the judge that he would not reoffend.

The judge agreed with the prosecution on the length of the jail term to be imposed.

Those who commit a public nuisance can be jailed for up to three months or fined up to S$2,000.

The penalty for disturbing the peace by fighting in public is up to a year in jail, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.