Man jailed again for drunkenly assaulting his 68-year-old father at home
During an argument with his father, Yap Bei Xing punched the older man in the eye three times, causing him to bleed.
SINGAPORE — Having recently served three weeks behind bars for assaulting his father while drunk, Yap Bei Xing was sentenced again to jail time on Thursday (Aug 6) for the same offence — this time, for five months.
The unemployed man, 33, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to his 68-year-old father in March.
While offenders can be jailed up to three years, fined up to S$5,000 or receive both penalties, Yap was liable to twice that punishment because he was in a “close relationship” with his father. This provision in the law took effect in January.
The court heard that Yap lived in a flat with his parents, wife and five children. The flat’s location was not disclosed in court documents.
On the night of March 25, Yap drank six cans of Anchor beer before leaving to meet his friend for more drinks.
He was a heavy drinker and consumed alcohol two to three times a week.
When he returned at midnight, he was intoxicated and began shouting at his father for no apparent reason. They began arguing and Yap punched the older man in the eye three times, causing him to bleed.
Yap’s mother then called his sister to tell her about the assault.
When his sister got there, she could not reason with him due to his intoxicated state that “caused him to be volatile”, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Rashvinpal Kaur Dhaliwal told the court.
Fearing for her family’s safety, she called the police.
Yap was arrested and his father was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. He had sustained cuts over his eyebrow and injuries to his eye.
Yap had about 179mg of ethanol per 100ml of blood in his body when he was arrested, a toxicology report from the Health Sciences Authority showed.
As a comparison, the legal limit for driving in Singapore is 80mg per 100ml of blood.
ASSAULTED FATHER SIX MONTHS AGO
In seeking the sentence imposed, DPP Kaur said that Yap “has clearly not learnt his lesson” since he attacked his father shortly after his release from prison.
In November last year, he was sentenced to three weeks’ jail and fined S$2,000.
He had punched his father’s face several times on Sept 4 last year and thrown a coffee table at him, before grabbing his earlobes and pushing his face into the window grilles of their flat.
The prosecutor noted that this time, Yap had punched his father in the eye — a vulnerable part of the body.
The enhanced penalties are also to provide greater protection to classes of vulnerable victims through heavier sentences, she added.
Yap’s lawyer Diana Ngiam, who asked for two months’ jail, told the court that his father has forgiven him. She added that Yap is seeking help through the National Addictions Management Service at the Institute of Mental Health for his drinking problems.
He will start serving his sentence on Sept 3 after he has made childcare arrangements for his five children.
