Chinese woman gets 24 days in jail for hurling signage at SIA ticketing staff

A 33-year-old Chinese woman got sentenced to 24 days in jail for causing hurt to a Singapore Airline (SIA) ticketing staff, by throwing a ‘Counter Closed’ sign at her.

The incident happened on June 11, 2017, when the 30-year-old victim, Sharin Chan Suet Gek, was attending to the accused, Chang Lihui, at a Changi Airport ticketing counter, reports Coconuts Singapore. 

Chang reportedly wanted to collect her flight ticket which she had purchased using a credit card belonging to a family member.

However, she could not verify the identity of the family member, nor could she even confirm that the owner had consented the purchase. 

Chan then informed Chang that they could not issue the ticket, until she could offer some sort of verification.

She even suggested for Chang to contact SIA’s China office in order to do so.

However, Chang flew into a rage and started shouting at Chan.

She claimed that she did not have a cellphone and was unable to contact the owner. 

When Chan sought help from another male colleague, he gave the same advice to Chang.

Out of patience, Chang started scolding the staff, and subsequently asked for a refund.

Chan told her that the refund process would take a few weeks, which made her even angrier.

She picked up the sign, which measured 26cm by 6cm, and threw it at Chan, hitting her squarely in the face.

Chan suffered cuts on her left eyebrow and nose bridge from the assault.

After the outburst, Chang was arrested at her hotel on June 12.

A psychiatrist testified in court that Chang suffered from schizophrenia, but was not of unsound mind at the time of the offence. 

The prosecution also said that her attacks were unwarranted and completely unprovoked.

Worse, Chang showed an utter lack of remorse after that.

Chang was sentenced to jail after pleading guilty, and the sentence was backdated to July 1. 

She could have been sentenced to a year in jail and slapped with a S$5,000 fine for causing hurt.