Fiancee of man who kicked woman for not masking up caught lying by CCTV

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
June 13, 2023

A man who racially insulted a stranger who had her mask down and kicked her chest was found guilty on Tuesday of assault and wounding the person’s feelings.

Wong Xing Fong, 32, who attacked Madam Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai near Northvale condominium in Choa Chu Kang in May 2021, is expected to be sentenced on July 31.

Madam Nita, 57, testified that she was brisk walking to Choa Chu Kang Stadium, where she worked at a fast-food restaurant, with her mask down when she heard somebody shouting.

She turned and saw Wong and his fiancee Ms Chua Yun Han. She did not know the couple, but they told her to “mask up”.

The prosecution told the court that she explained to the couple that she was brisk walking and gestured to illustrate that she was exercising and sweating.

“The accused instead scolded the complainant (and verbally insulted her). To de-escalate the matter, the complainant responded, ‘God bless you’,” the prosecution added. “The accused, however, kicked the complainant in her chest area. He and (his fiancee) then jogged off.”

Madam Nita testified that an eyewitness helped her to her feet and applied a plaster to a wound on her left forearm. She made a police report that evening.

The prosecution said the eyewitness, who was unrelated to either party, testified that she saw a man kicking Madam Nita. Describing Madan Nita as a truthful witness, the prosecution added: “It is absurd to suggest that the complainant framed the accused, a stranger, out of the blue.”

Wong, who was represented by lawyer Sim Bing Wen, claimed that Madam Nita was sarcastic and aggressive, and hurled vulgarities at him. He also claimed that Madam Nita spat at him and his fiancee, and he reacted by pushing the victim. While he accepted that he had used vulgarities, he denied they were racial insults.

But the prosecution said any allegation that Madam Nita spat at him was “fatally contradicted” by the conduct of Wong and his fiancee.

“It is also odd that the accused remained in close contact with Chua after the alleged spit. The accused claimed to be concerned about spreading illnesses to Chua’s immunocompromised parent.”

The couple testified that Wong went to a washroom at the nearby Lot One mall to wash up.

The prosecution told the court: “Chua told the court that she recalled this clearly because she had ordered food alone... in Lot One. But this is a lie. Closed-circuit television footage... showed the two of them ordering food together.”