By Khushwant Singh
A RESIDENT, who told a cleaner to quieten down, is now unable to
speak after being stabbed in the neck.
K Mohan, 49, pleaded guilty in a district court on Tuesday to
hurting Mr Ngoh Chin Boon, 33, with a knife. He will be sentenced
on Jan 21.
The court heard that Mr Ngoh was playing chess with retiree Chan
Keng Mun, 64, at the void deck of Block 26 Sin Ming Industrial
Sector A at 10pm on Aug 1, 2009. Mohan was drinking beer with a
friend nearby but an hour later, the cleaner started shouting and
swearing vulgarities into his mobile phone.
Mr Ngoh told the cleaner not to talk so loudly or the police
might come. A row broke out and when Mohan swung a beer bottle, Mr
Ngoh pushed his attacker, who fell to the floor. The cleaner picked
himself up and walked away briskly only to return minutes later
with a knife that had a 13cm-long blade. Mohan then slashed the
victim's arm and stabbed him in the neck before running off.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Stella Tan said Mr Ngoh requires speech
therapy and voice rehabilitation to try and speak again. Mohan was
found fit to stand trial but the psychiatric report from the
Institute of Mental Health stated he would require lifelong
medication for his schizophrenia. Mohan has been in trouble with
the law since 1982 and has been behind bars for fighting, theft and
drug consumption.
Defence counsel Suresh Damodara had asked for sentencing to be
adjourned as Mohan intends to carry a kavadi during Thaipusam on
Jan 20 so as to repent and cleanse himself. The cleaner is out on
$15,000 bail furnished by his sister.
He can carry out his kavadi inside changi prison
liao....... 