13 weeks' jail for woman who assaulted neighbour, causing him to fall and die from head injury

SINGAPORE - A woman has been sentenced to 13 weeks' jail for assaulting her neighbour who died after he fell and hit his head on the floor.

Leo Mona, 57, was originally scheduled to appear in a district court on Wednesday (April 15).

Her case was brought forward and she was instead sentenced last Thursday.

In February, District Judge Mathew Joseph convicted Leo of assaulting Mr Ho Wee Khuan, 48, in a common area of a block of flats in Holland Close.

The judge also found Leo guilty of attempting to intentionally obstruct the course of justice.

During the nine-day trial, a witness, Madam Sarada Appi Narayanan, testified that she had gone to her son's flat on Aug 10, 2017 to help him with household chores.

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The court heard that at one point, she sat at a common area on the eighth storey where her son, Mr Wilson Loh, had put a table and some chairs.

Madam Sarada said that Mr Ho then joined her. A female neighbour and a man came soon after and had an argument with him, the court heard.

The pair were not named in court documents.

The man accused Mr Ho of stealing some money and the pair left after Mr Ho denied the allegation.

Madam Sarada told the court that Leo then came and spoke to Mr Ho, who hurled an obscene word at her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim had said in her submissions: "The accused became angry and slapped the deceased on the side of his face.

"Thereafter, the accused, who was standing face to face with the deceased, pushed the deceased with two hands. This led to the deceased falling."

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Mr Ho hit his head on the floor and died two days later.

Madam Sarada testified that she then ran back to her son's flat and Mr Loh alerted the police.

She said officers arrived soon after and took Leo aside.

As Leo passed Mr Loh's flat, she said to Madam Sarada in Hokkien: "If you don't know, don't say."

Mr Loh told the court during the trial that he called for the police after seeing Mr Ho on the floor.

Mr Loh also testified that Leo had told his mother in Hokkien: "If you don't know anything, don't anyhow say it out."

During the trial, Leo, who was represented by lawyer K. Jayakumar Naidu, denied slapping and pushing Mr Ho.

She said she had treated Mr Ho "like a younger brother".

The court heard that she intends to appeal against the decision and bail has been set at $15,000.

For assault, she could have been jailed for up two years and fined up to $5,000.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.