Father and son jailed 3 weeks, ordered to pay $60 for assaulting 13-year-old boy

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
Apr 18, 2022

A father-and-son pair ganged up against a 13-year-old boy and assaulted him, causing multiple injuries including facial bruises.

On Monday (April 18), Bernard Ong Wei Feng, 31 and his father, retiree Ong Eng Seng, 62, were each sentenced to three weeks' jail and ordered to pay $60 in compensation over the attack that took place in December 2019.

They had pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting the boy who cannot be named as those below 18 are covered under the Children and Young Persons Act.

The teenager and three of his friends were playing football at a multi-purpose hall in Toa Payoh at around 5pm on Dec 22, 2019, when the ball came close to Ong Eng Seng who was walking nearby.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong said: "Eng Seng confronted the victim and his friends, and hurled various vulgarities at them.

"The victim and his friends responded with several vulgarities as well. Eng Seng then told the victim that he would be back, and headed home."

He reached his home and told his son about his encounter.

Bernard Ong then agreed to help his father confront them and the pair returned to the multi-purpose hall at around 5.30pm.

The younger Ong, then a project manager, went towards the 13-year-old boy, yanked him to his feet and exclaimed: "You made fun of my dad... You think it's funny?"

After that, he held the boy by his neck and slammed him down, causing the victim's head to hit the floor.

The DPP added: "While the victim was lying on his back on the floor, Bernard punched the victim once on his right cheek, and pressed him down against the floor, before lifting him to his feet.

"Eng Seng (choked the victim) and slapped him approximately five to six times... Eng Seng then pushed the victim towards an adjacent stone bench."

After the pair left the scene, the boy went to his grandmother's home and she took him to a police post to lodge a report after seeing that he was injured.

The teenager later went to KK Women's and Children's Hospital where he was found with bruises on his face, left shoulder and upper back.

For assault, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.