Man, 53, punches 6-year-old boy after son was allegedly kicked at enrichment centre

SINGAPORE — After hearing that his son was supposedly kicked by a classmate and was in pain, a man went back to an enrichment centre and later punched the boy's six-year-old classmate in the face.

On Friday (June 28), Mak Wai Onn, 53, a Singaporean private-hire driver, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a person below the age of 14.

The name of the victim cannot be disclosed due to a court order to protect his identity.

The court heard that on Oct 18 last year at about 9pm, Mak and his wife headed to the centre to pick up their son after class.

Later, his wife told him that their son was kicked and that his private parts were in pain.

Mak then checked and noticed that his son’s groin had some redness.

He decided to drive back to the centre so that his wife could ask his teacher about the matter.

When she returned and told Mak that both the teacher and the classmate were unable to explain what had happened, he decided to clarify the matter himself.

By this time, the classmate's grandmother had arrived to pick him up, court documents stated. As they were about to leave, Mak confronted the boy to ask if he was the one who had kicked his son.

Before the boy or anyone else could react, Mak punched the boy's face once.

The boy fell backwards and narrowly avoided hitting his head on the ground as his grandmother was holding onto his hand.

A surveillance video footage from the enrichment centre was played in court, showing the assault.

At about 9.20pm that day, a witness reported the incident to the police.

The victim was seen at Bukit Batok polyclinic the next day and assessed to be well, with no obvious signs of significant injury and he did not require any hospitalisation.

However, he was referred to a child psychiatrist and orthopaedic surgeon for further evaluation.

On April 4 this year, Mak made full restitution of S$440.65 for the cost of the victim’s medical treatment.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Eugene Phua sought a sentence of between six and nine weeks’ imprisonment for Mak.

He added that Mak had targeted a vulnerable and young victim, whose injuries could have been more serious if his head had hit the floor after being punched.

“Such conduct of causing hurt to a young victim should not be condoned and has no place in society,” DPP Phua said.

In mitigation, Mak, who was not represented by a lawyer, pleaded for the lightest possible sentence, adding that he wished to apologise to the victim and the boy's parents.

He said that at the time, he felt angry and worried after hearing that his son was hit at a vulnerable part of the body and he lost his temper.

His sentence will be heard on July 18.

Anyone who voluntarily caused hurt to a person may be jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or both.

If the victim is under the age of 14, the court may also impose a sentence up to twice the maximum punishment.