Woman sentenced to detention for slapping and biting boy in Yishun

A woman directed a racial slur at a 13-year-old boy, and assaulted the teenager after he ignored her. 

The suspect, Lynn Chan, 20, was sentenced to a week-long short detention order (SDO) after pleading guilty to the charges, reports The Straits Times.

The boy was waiting for his mother near his school in Yishun on March 22 at around 5.50pm when the suspect Chan uttered a racial slur at him from the second storey of a nearby block. 

It is unclear why Chan verbally abused the teenager.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chua said:

“The victim turned and saw the accused on the second floor. 

“The accused began shouting at the victim, asking if the victim wanted to fight. 

“The victim ignored the accused.”

However, Chan did not stop.

She marched downstairs and confronted the boy, before hitting the left side of his face with an empty plastic bottle. 

The two then got into a scuffle during which she slapped his face at least five times and bit his back.

The attack was witnessed by the boy’s teacher who intervened, and the event was captured on a dashboard camera on his vehicle.

Chan subsequently fled the scene, while the teenager’s mother arrived just minutes later.

The mother then made a police report at around 6.20pm.

The boy was conveyed to a clinic where he was treated for the scratches on his face. 

There were also bite marks on his right shoulder blade. 

The court also heard that Chan attempted to make a compensation of $318, along with an apology letter to the boy.

Both were rejected by the boy’s father. 

Offenders sentenced to SDOs have to be imprisoned for a short period of up to 14 days, but will not have criminal records after serving their sentence. 

Chan was also given a six-month Day Reporting Order (DRO) and given 180 hours of mandatory community service. 

DROs are administered by the Singapore Prison Service and offenders have to report to a day reporting centre for monitoring and counselling.

Offenders given the sentence will also undergo rehabilitation programmes. 

District Judge Eddy Tham noted that Chan had show remorse before handing out the sentence. 

However, he also noted that she had attacked a young victim with "no provocation whatsoever”.

Chan will begin serving her sentence on Oct 17.

For causing hurt, she could have been jailed up to two years and fined up to $5,000.