Man jailed 6 weeks for punching nurse in SGH ward
He was at the hospital to visit his girlfriend who had been warded but instead created a commotion by shouting at her.
When a staff nurse tried to calm him down, Yap Eng Heng punched the nurse’s face twice.
At the State Courts on Thursday (7 March), Yap, 38, was jailed for six weeks after he pleaded guilty to one charge of causing hurt.
On 16 February 2016, Yap, who was jobless, went to visit his girlfriend who had been admitted to the Singapore General Hospital. It was not revealed during the hearing why she was in hospital.
Yap asked her about her condition but she started to cry. He got agitated and started to raise his voice and yell at her.
Because of the commotion, staff nurse Syed Faizal Syed Mohsen tried to calm Yap down and politely asked him to step outside the room so that he could update Yap on his girlfriend’s condition.
Instead, Yap demanded loudly to know about her condition in the room. The nurse again tried to calm him down and asked him to step outside the room.
Suddenly, Yap threw two punches at the nurse, hitting his left forehead area and the left side of his mouth.
The nurse sought medical attention and was given two days of medical leave for swelling near his left eye and bruising over the left side of his mouth.
Yap has a history of violence-related crimes starting from 2002 when he was fined $1,000 for affray.
Among other things, he was jailed for three years along with 12 strokes of the cane in 2009 for robbery. He was also jailed for two years and nine months in 2012 for criminal intimidation and housebreaking by night.
The maximum penalty for causing hurt is up to two years’ jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
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