A woman, Endon Abu Bakar, 47, has been fined S$4,000 for hurting another woman, 66, on an MRT train. The incident happened on the East-West Line on December 5 of last year, and it all started because of a seat.
The older woman had gotten on the train and put her bag on the empty seat next to her. When Endon boarded the train at Paya Lebar station, she sat down on that seat “forcefully,” hitting the victim’s bag. The victim felt that Endon had sat too hard on the seat, while Endon felt the seat was empty and the bag shouldn’t have been there. The victim told Endon she should have asked her to move the bag first, and an argument started.
A Simple Disagreement Turns Physical
The situation got worse when Endon pointed her mobile phone at the victim. The victim’s response to this was to smile, make a peace sign, and point her phone back at Endon. She then snatched the victim’s phone. As the victim tried to get her phone back, Endon kicked her once in the stomach with her right leg.
Another passenger pressed the emergency button, which made the train stop at Tanah Merah station. A staff member then came and talked to both women.
The victim went to get medical help because she felt pain in her abdomen and had a headache. A doctor checked her and confirmed that the pain was a bruise in the stomach area and a “minor soft tissue injury consistent with being kicked.” She did not need to be hospitalized or take any medical leave.
The district judge, Koo Zhi Xuan, said that this was a “borderline case” that could have ended in jail time. But he decided to give her a high fine instead since the injury wasn’t too severe and Endon didn’t have a history of similar crimes. He did say that Endon was “the more aggressive party in this matter”.
Endon, who works as a librarian and earns about S$2,500 a month, told the judge she had a lot of other payments to make, like”S$1,200 to ‘HDB’ this month.” The judge said, “You have all these difficulties in your life, I understand,” but he also added, “Then you shouldn’t have committed this offence.” He let her pay the S$4,000 fine in installments, S$500 right away and then seven monthly payments of S$500.
For the crime of voluntarily causing hurt, Endon could have been sent to jail for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
