District Judge Samuel Hwa Kuan Chua:
The Charges
Chang Shiuan Fei, Matthews (“the Accused”), a 32-year-old male Singaporean (Date of Birth 30 September 1985), pleaded guilty to the following two charges:
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| MAC 902379-2018 You, …, are charged that you, on the 6th day of August 2017, at or about 7.47 p.m., at the open carpark in front of Blk 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, Singapore, did cause hurt to one Xavier Goh Jun Wei, by doing an act so rashly as to endanger the personal safety of the driver and the passengers in the car with registration plate number SGG5388D as well as other road-users in the vicinity, to wit, by chasing the said car and throwing a bunch of items strung together by a keychain and consisting of a car key, a metal whistle and two plush toys at the rear windscreen of the said car, causing the rear windscreen to shatter completely, and the said Xavier Goh Zhun Wei to suffer a small dry abrasion over the left elbow, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 337(a) of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed).. (sic.) |
| MAC 902380-2018 You, …, are charged that you, on the 6th day of August 2017, at or about 7.47 pm, at the open carpark in front of Blk 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, Singapore, a public place, did disturb the public peace by fighting with one Patrick Goh Kok Leong, to wit, by pushing him, grabbing him on the neck, and punching him on the left eye, and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under section 267B of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed). (sic.) |
I sentenced the Accused to $4,000 fine (in default four weeks’ imprisonment) on the first charge (MAC 902379-2018), and to $2,000 fine (in default two weeks’ imprisonment) on the second charge (MAC 902380-2018). The Accused paid the fines in full immediately after he was sentenced.
Statement of Facts
The Accused admitted to the following Statement of Facts without qualification.
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| Parties 1. The accused is Chang Shiaun Fei, Matthews, a 32-year-old male (D.O.B.: 30 September 1985) bearing NRIC No. xxx. 2. The co-accused person is Patrick Goh Kok Leong (“Patrick”), a 53-year-old male (D.O.B.: 1 August 1965) bearing NRIC No.: xxx. At the material time, he was the driver of a car bearing registration number SGG5388D (the “car”). 3. The girlfriend of the accused person is one Cao Huizhi (“Cao”), a 30-year-old female. 4. The independent witness is one Yip You Weng, a 34-year-old male. First Information Report 5. On 6 August 2017, at about 7.47pm, the accused called the police and reported the following information: “We almost ran off by this car. The driver is here. We are having a quarrel”. The location of the incident was given as the car park of Blk 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, Singapore (the “car park”). Facts relating to the charges (MAC-902379-2018 and MAC-902380-2018) 6. Investigations revealed that on 6 August 2017, at or about 7.47pm, the accused and his girlfriend, Cao, were about to have their dinner at a food centre. They were about to cross a road at the car park after alighting from their car. At this juncture, Patrick was driving out of the car park with his wife and two sons. The two sons were seated in the backseat of the car. Other vehicles were also coming in and out of the car park. A picture depicting the road that the accused and Cao were about to cross is as follows: [Photograph] 7. The accused and Cao were standing at the side of the road. As they proceeded to cross the road (as depicted above from right to left), Patrick, who was driving the vehicle at about 20km/h, continued on his course. The accused took a step back and pulled Cao backwards as well so as to prevent a collision. The accused tapped on the window of the front passenger seat so as to speak to Patrick. Patrick’s wife informed Patrick to drive off, and he did so. 8. Angered that the car did not stop, the accused chased after the car. He then forcefully threw a bunch of items strung together by a keychain which he had in his hands at the rear of the car. The rear windscreen of the car shattered completely on impact. Pictures of the shattered rear windscreen, as well as the bunch of items used by the accused, which consisted of a metal whistle, a car key, and two plush toys, are as follows: [Photograph] 9. The impact of the shattered glass caused Patrick’s son, Xavier Goh Jun Wei (“Xavier”), who was then 12-year-old, to sustain a cut on the left elbow. Xavier cried out in pain. Patrick stopped the car, and he, his wife and sons then alighted from the car. 10. As they did so, the accused and Cao walked towards the car and started to scream at Patrick. An argument ensued between Patrick, the accused, and Cao, during which Patrick and Cao hurled vulgarities at each other. 11. Both the accused and Patrick then entered into a scuffle and struggled against each other. They pushed and grabbed each other on the neck. Patrick attempted to punch the accused numerous times, following which the accused punched Patrick on the face. Patrick fell to the floor. The independent witness then stepped in between them. 12. On the same day, Patrick and Xavier were conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Injuries sustained by the parties Xavier Goh Jun Wei 13. In a medical report dated 28 August 2017, Dr Man Shiu Yuen, a doctor in the Emergency Department of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, stated that Xavier sustained a small dry abrasion over his left elbow. Patrick 14. In a medical report dated 7 September 2017, Dr Sarah Tan En Mei, a doctor in the Emergency Department of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, stated that Patrick sustained visible injuries over the left periorbital bruising, soft tissue swelling in the left periorbital region, and superficial abrasion over the left aspect of the neck. Patrick also suffered from left-eye floaters and was referred to the eye specialist. 15. In a medical report dated 19 March 2018, Dr Kelvin Li, a doctor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, stated that Patrick had sustained a posterior vitreous detachment. The accused person 16. In a medical report dated 7 August 2017, Dr Paul Ho, a doctor at Ho Medical Centre Pte Ltd, stated that the accused sustained left ear erythematous and left neck pain on palpation involving mainly the lateral process of cervical spine at C3, C4 with pain level of 6-7/10 level. He was given two days of medical leave from 7 – 8 August 2017. Conclusion 17. By virtue of the foregoing, the accused has committed an offence of rash act causing hurt under s 337(a) of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) (“Penal Code”), and an offence of affray under section 267B of the Penal Code. 18. Patrick has been charged with an offence under s 267B of the Penal Code and an offence under s 3(1)(a) p/u s 3(2) of the Protection from Harassment Act (Cap 256A, 2015 Rev Ed). 19. The accused had made restitution of $688 to Patrick for the shattered rear windscreen. (sic.) |
Antecedents
The Accused was not traced with any criminal antecedents.
Prescribed punishment
The prescribed punishments for an offence under section 337(a) Penal Code and an offence under section 267B Penal Code are:
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| Section 337(a) Penal Code | Imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to $5,000, or both |
| Section 267B Penal Code | Imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to $5,000, or both |
Prosecution’s Oral Submissions on Sentence
The Prosecution classified the case as “road rage” and submitted for the Accused to be sentenced to two weeks’ imprisonment on the section 337(a) Penal Code charge. In their submissions, the Prosecution referred to the High Court’s definition of “road rage” in PP v Lim Yee Hua and another appeal [2018] 3 SLR 1106, and cited the following cases: PP v Tan Teck Chian Samuel Melvin [2016] SGMC 5; (MA 9039/2016) PP v Lim Peng Hoo @ Tan Peng Hoo [2009] SGMC 11; (MA 195/2009) PP v James George Palin [2014] SGMC 10; (MA 199/2014) Goh Hock Lye v PP (MA 441/1992)
In seeking a two week imprisonment term for the section 337(a) Penal Code charge, the Prosecution submitted that: As in all “road rage” cases, general and specific deterrence were the primary sentencing considerations in the present case. The Accused’s culpability was “high” as he had acted in a “thuggish and grossly disproportionate manner”. The Accused’s act was “highly dangerous” as he had thrown his bunch at the rear windscreen of a moving car, thereby endangering the safety of those sitting in the car as well as those in the vicinity of the car. The Accused’s act caused “minor hurt” to Patrick Goh’s 12 year old son, Xavier Goh. Imprisonment terms were usually imposed on road rage cases under section 336 Penal Code and section 337 Penal Code even where no hurt was caused.
The Prosecution left the sentence for the section 267B Penal Code charge to the Court’s discretion.
Mitigation
In respect of the section 337(a) Penal Code charge and the section 267B Penal Code charge, Mr Wee Xunji submitted for the Accused to be sentenced to a fine, on the following grounds: Section 337(a) Penal Code It was not a “road rage” matter as the Accused had thrown the bunch of items only to signal to Patrick Goh to stop his car and to prevent him from leaving the scene, so that he could call the Police to the scene to reprimand Patrick Goh and/or to commence investigations into his ill-mannered and dangerous driving. On 6 August 2017, Ms Cao Huizhi was pregnant with the Accused’s son. Had the Accused not pulled Ms Cao back, Ms Cao and their unborn child would have been hit by the car and could have been seriously injured. The Accused and Ms Cao were shaken and alarmed by the near accident. The Accused’s action were “manifested” (sic.) by Patrick Goh’s ill-mannered and...
