by Elena Chong
A DISTRICT judge, who fined a man $3,000 for punching a
10-year-old boy, told him that there was no excuse for what he
did.
District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said on Tuesday he was
imposing the fine on operations manager Lim Chee Kiong after noting
that the injuries suffered by the victim were not that serious.
Lim, a first offender, had pleaded guilty to causing hurt to the
Primary 5 student at Pasir Ris Downtown East in Pasir Ris Close on
Dec 16 last year.
The court heard that Lim's nephew had complained that the victim
had accidentally hit him with a plastic ball while playing in the
games area that evening.
After the nephew had identified the victim, Lim was seen
grabbing the victim by his shirt, pulling him out of the area and
punching him on the cheek.
The impact caused the victim to fall to the ground. Lim was
stopped by security officers on duty.
The victim's father, a 38-year-old technician, was also hauled
to court for punching Lim that evening.
But the court rejected his guilty plea after the man indicated
that he wished to make representations to the prosecution.
Lim, who said he realised that what he did was wrong, could have
been jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000.
