Man who battered friend twice in six months, attacked police officers, jailed
A man who battered his friend twice within the span of six months and assaulted police officers with a wooden chair in February was jailed over 21 months on Wednesday (30 May).
Zainudin Osman, 56, pleaded guilty at the State Courts to five charges, which included causing grievous hurt and assaulting police officers. Ten other related charges, including one count of drinking in a public place and one count of gambling in public were taken into consideration.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Dora Tay told the court that a dispute had arisen between Zainudin and another friend while they were out drinking with a group near Block 95 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh in the early hours of 22 August 2017.
Sinen Simin, 53, was unhappy and jealous that Zainudin kept trying to get close to Sinen’s girlfriend. During the course of the argument, Zainudin punched Sinen multiple times on his face until he bled.
After the argument subsided, Zainudin again tried to get close to Sinen’s girlfriend. Agitated, Sinen smashed a glass rice wine bottle onto Zainudin’s head.
Despite the serious blow, Zainudin did not stop punching Sinen, who fell to the ground and lost consciousness. Zainudin tried to continue his attack but was held back by his friends, one of whom called the police.
When officers tried to restrain Zainudin at the scene, he hurled expletives at them and pushed one officer in the chest.
Both Zainudin and Sinen were conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment. Sinen suffered from broken ribs, among other injuries.
On 3 February this year, Zainudin and Sinen got into another fight over Sinen’s girlfriend.
Zainudin was with his wife when Sinen and his girlfriend met them at about 1am near Block 103 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh.
At some point, the two men began quarrelling and Zainudin began punching Sinen multiple times in his face. Sinen fell to the ground but Zainudin kept up the assault with multiple kicks to Sinen’s body.
The police were called and officers arrived to find Zainudin approaching Sinen with a discarded broken fan that he had found nearby. The officers managed to stop Zainudin from assaulting Sinen with the fan.
There was no placating Zainudin, however, and he continued to be aggressive towards Sinen. When the officers moved to arrest Zainudin, he picked up a discarded wooden chair nearly a metre in height and swung it at two officers.
The officers eventually managed to arrest Zainudin with no injuries sustained in the process. Sinen, however, suffered from a fracture on his nasal bone.
In a separate incident on 13 March this year, Zainudin also tailed two National Environmental Agency (NEA) enforcement officers and challenged one of them to a fight.
Zainudin had become upset that one of the officers had issued a fine to a coffeeshop patron for smoking in a non-designated area. It is unclear how Zainudin was related to the patron.
The NEA officers had tried to walk away but Zainudin, who was carrying a metal chain, caught up with them. Zainudin hurled vulgarities at the NEA officers and pulled one of them by the arm. The police were then called in and he was arrested.
DPP Tay asked the court for two years’ and seven weeks’ jail for Zainudin, who was unrepresented in court.
Speaking in Malay through a court interpreter, Zainudin said that he was sorry for his actions. He also said he had been doing charity work at Block 95, where he had first assaulted his friend, by helping to serve food to the elderly.
District Judge Jasvender Kaur noted that while Zainudin had also suffered from serious injuries in his clashes with Sinen, it was the former who had started the fights. It was “quite a sustained attack which resulted in serious injuries,” said the judge.
For causing grievous hurt, Zainudin could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined, or caned.
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