Woman hit waitress' face with glass jug, causing permanent scar
SINGAPORE — A female patron who got into a scuffle at a bar in Serangoon Garden permanently scarred a waitress with a beer pitcher.
Tan Mei Ling, 28, was separated from the 32-year-old victim after they fought in the smoking room. After the waitress returned to work, Tan approached her and smashed a glass beer jug against her forehead. The two women were not known to each other.
Tan, a personal assistant, was sentenced to 18 days’ jail and fined $800 on Thursday (17 June). She pleaded guilty to one count each of using criminal force and of voluntarily causing hurt to the waitress, who received a stern warning by a police officer for kicking Tan after the incident.
The waitress worked at Futurez Bar, located at Serangoon Garden, at the time of the incident on 10 December 2017. She took a smoke break at around 1am with a friend in the smoking room. The room was accessible to both staff and patrons. As the two sat on a bench to smoke, Tan sat near the bench.
Suddenly, Tan turned to face the waitress and pushed her on the right shoulder, saying “what is your problem?”
A scuffle ensued, with both women pushing each other. The waitress kicked Tan in the stomach once to push her away. The fight only stopped when staff and other patrons separated them.
The waitress returned to work after her friend pulled her out of the smoking room. At about 1.30am, as the waitress was washing some mugs at a sink, Tan came up to her and hit her on the forehead with a glass beer pitcher.
The jug shattered upon impact, causing the waitress to bleed. She was immediately conveyed to the hospital by her friend for emergency treatment.
A police report dated 28 December 2017 noted that the waitress had a 3cm vertical laceration on her forehead, which required stitches. A subsequent report dated 31 July 2019 stated that she was likely to have sustained a permanent scar.
Follow-up treatment to remove the stitches and lessen the appearance of the scar lasted until 31 August last year. In total, the waitress had to fork out $6,456.92 to treat her injury and scar. Tan restituted the full sum to the waitress on Wednesday.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Siaw sought at least three weeks' jail for Tan, whom she pointed had caused a permanent scar on the victim.
Tan’s lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya said that his client, who is married with two children, was remorseful for the incident.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Tan could have been jailed up to two years, or fined up to $5,000, or both. For using criminal force she could have jailed up to three months, or fined up to $1,500, or both.
Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore
More Singapore stories:
More Singapore residents identifying as having no religion: census
Population growth slowed, higher proportion of singles in Singapore: census
Man who fled to Thailand to avoid drug charges cheated mask buyers in Singapore
