Man jailed 21 months for stomping on 72-year-old father’s chest, fracturing his ribs

SINGAPORE - Angered that his father did not share their tenant’s rent money with him, a man hit his 72-year-old father multiple times with a remote control and stomped on his chest.

The assault left the elderly man, now 75, with rib fractures and a scalp laceration.

On Aug 20, Teo Yao Zhong, 35, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt and was sentenced to 21 months’ jail.

At the start of the hearing, Teo asked for his case to be heard at a later date, as he needed time to clean his room.

When Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu asked why he had not cleaned his room earlier, Teo replied he had already begun cleaning it, but could not finish doing so as it was too messy.

Judge Ong rejected his request to adjourn the matter and the hearing continued.

The court heard the assault took place in 2023 at home where Teo lived with his father.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ng said the father rented out a room to a tenant to supplement his income. It was not mentioned in court what Teo or his father did for a living.

Upset that his father did not share the rent money with him, Teo threw household items before midnight on Jan 19, 2023.

As his father tried to stop him, Teo used a remote control to hit his head multiple times.

His father used his arms to defend himself, but tripped on some items scattered on the floor and fell.

As his father lay on the floor, Teo stomped on his chest while the older man tried to push him away.

Teo eventually stopped attacking his father and returned to throwing items around the home.

His father ran out, called the police and waited for them at the void deck.

When the police arrived, officers saw injuries on the older man’s forehead and he was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s emergency department.

Meanwhile, other officers tried to calm Teo down, who was still behaving aggressively in the unit.

Despite multiple warnings from the police, Teo threw more items around, including a large television. The prosecutor said several of these items landed close to the officers.

He was arrested and released on bail on Jan 20, 2023.

Seeking a jail term of between 20 and 21 months, the prosecutor said Teo’s father was vulnerable due to his age, and could not stop his son from throwing items around the flat.

In mitigation, Teo, who was unrepresented, said: “I cannot really recall what happened that day, but I’m accepting what I’ve done wrong and I have nothing further to say.”

Those convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt can be jailed for up to 10 years, and can be fined or caned.

Nadine Chua is a correspondent covering crime and court at The Straits Times.