Man gets more jail time for biting off part of inmate's ear in dispute at Changi Prison
Inside Singapore's Changi Prison. (File photo: CNA/Amir Yusof)
SINGAPORE: A man who was in jail for drug-related offences got into a dispute with a fellow inmate over coffee powder and bit off part of the other man's ear.
Teo Chye Lye, 56, was given another 10 months' jail on Friday (Aug 6) for his actions. He will serve the extra jail time at the end of his current sentence.
The court heard that Teo was with the victim, 53-year-old Lim Lee Yat, at the workshop at Level 5 of cluster B3 of Changi Prisons on Dec 15, 2020.
They were packing coffee sachets at the workshop under supervision of Changi Prisons when Teo used his hand to push some of the spilled coffee mix to the victim's side of the worktable.
As this resulted in the victim having to work more and prepare more packages, the pair began quarrelling. Teo told the victim not to be so calculative, and the dispute escalated.
The victim punched Teo in the face, and Teo retaliated with his own punches. During the scuffle, Teo bit forcefully onto the upper portion of the victim's left ear.
As a result, part of the victim's left pinna or external ear was completely bitten off. Teo's punches also left bruises on the victim's eye area.
A prisons officer was alerted by other inmates to the fight and commanded the two men to stop fighting. After they complied, the officer called for medical help and backup.
He found the victim's dislodged ear piece on the floor and told medical staff about it.
The victim was referred to Changi General Hospital, but the ear could not be stitched back, with the victim suffering permanent loss of part of his earlobe.
The victim was given a stern warning for his part in the fracas, leaving bruises on Teo's face.
Teo pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt that resulted in grievous hurt, causing permanent disfiguration.
The prosecution asked for a jail term of 10 to 15 months for Teo, pointing out his list of past convictions.
Teo was given nine months' jail in 2016 for criminal intimidation, two weeks' jail in 2014 for voluntarily causing hurt and five years' corrective training in 2002 for crimes including causing hurt and possessing an offensive weapon.
He was given 16 weeks' jail and three strokes of the cane in 1998 for voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon.
For voluntarily causing hurt that he did not intend to be grievous but that turned out to be grievous, Teo could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
