Uncle batters elderly neighbour with 1.4m pole, causing multiple fractures -- all because he found her 'noisy'

A 53-year-old man assaulted his 69-year-old neighbour with a 1.4m-long wooden pole for ‘being too noisy’, causing the victim multiple fractures which required surgery and blood transfusion.

The incident happened at the void deck of Block 6, Kim Tian Road, on Oct 22, 2016, at around 11am, and the accused was sentenced to 36 months in prison on Wednesday afternoon (May 23). 

The victim and accused had been neighbours for more than a decade, reports Shin Min Daily News via Lianhe Zaobao. 

Investigation revealed that the accused had found his elderly neighbour to be ‘excessively loud’ when speaking, or dragging furniture in her home, and wanted to ‘teach her a lesson’. 

The court revealed that the accused had found the weapon, a 1.4m-long wooden pole at the void deck of his block, and hid the weapon at a rubbish collection point, biding his time to carry out the attack.

He waited for the victim to walk past, before using the pole to strike her head, arms and upper body, until she bled and passed out. 

Another neighbour had heard the victim’s cry for help and quickly seized the weapon from the accused upon reaching the scene. 

According to the medical reports, the accused has depression and this in turn caused him to be overly sensitive.

However, the court also noted that the accused committed the act with intention, and understood that it was wrong to attack others. 

Reporters paid a visit to the home of the victim yesterday and she told them that she was traumatised by the ordeal.

She claimed that three months before the assault, the accused had asked from her a cigarette, and wanted her to toss the stick from her unit on her upper floor, to his unit, which was located on a lower one. 

Said the victim:

“Sometimes, we’ll bump into each other outside, and he’ll ask me for money.

“The amount ranges from S$2 to S$20.”

However, the victim later revealed that she had quitted smoking and also had no money to lend him.

On the day of the attack, the victim was just on her way to the supermarket when she heard the accused shout ‘auntie’.

She turned around to find the accused holding a 1.4m-long pole.

The accused, without explaining his actions, allegedly started battering the victim, striking her head, hands and body. 

She started shouting for help in English and Mandarin. 

The victim added:

“After the attack, I was in a semi-comatose state.

“The doctor later told me after I awoke that he had operated on me for eight and a half hours after that.”

Even now, the scars from the operation can still be seen clearly, and the victim is unable to move her right hand freely. 

She said:

“The doctors advised me to take it slow, and I’m learning how to write all over again.”