A woman has been sentenced to 10 days in jail after kicking a three-year-old boy at a gift-wrapping station in Toys R Us, following a dispute with the child’s parents over the use of tape.
Angela Yong Sze Ting, 36, a mother of young children herself, was found guilty of voluntarily causing hurt to a minor according to CNA.
The incident occurred on May 1 at United Square Shopping Mall on Thomson Road, where Yong and the victim’s family were wrapping gifts.
According to court documents, Yong was involved in a verbal altercation with the boy’s parents regarding the shared use of tape at the self-service wrapping station. After the family finished wrapping their items, they exited the store, with the boy and his five-year-old brother ahead of Yong.
In a disturbing sequence of events captured on closed-circuit television, Yong chased after the boy and kicked him in the back of the foot, causing him to fall to the ground and sustain minor injuries. The boy’s father witnessed the incident and quickly intervened, leading to Yong’s apprehension and subsequent arrest.
During a session of police questioning, Yong displayed a lack of remorse, insisting that she had accidentally tripped the child, contrary to the evidence presented. The prosecution highlighted the unwarranted nature of her attack, emphasizing that the victim was merely a child uninvolved in the dispute between adults.
The victim, whose identity has been protected by a gag order, was examined by a doctor after the incident. The physician reported that he suffered from knee pain but had no visible injuries and could walk. He was given three days of medical leave and referred to a child psychiatrist after displaying signs of trauma—though his parents did not follow up on this referral, the report added.
The prosecutor argued for a sentence of two to three weeks, noting that Yong’s conduct was completely unjustifiable. They pointed out aggravating factors such as her attempt to flee the scene and her subsequent insistence that her actions were accidental.
“If anything, the verbal dispute was between the accused and the victim’s parents. The victim himself was simply a young child,” prosecutor said in court.
Two aggravating factors in the case were Yong’s attempt to flee the scene and the evidence captured by CCTV footage, alongside the fact that she was caught by the victim’s father.
Despite these circumstances, Yong maintained throughout the police investigation that the incident was accidental.
Yong’s legal counsel, Ms. Alyssa Galvan Mundo, advocated for a non-custodial sentence, arguing that a deterrent punishment does not necessarily have to involve imprisonment.
She explained that Yong and her family were dining at a restaurant in the mall when she decided to leave the table to purchase a gift. On her return, she coincidentally crossed paths with the victim’s family, as it was in the same direction she needed to go.
“So she did not purposely trail the victim’s family, that was just the direction she was heading towards,” said Ms Mundo, as per the report.
Ms. Mundo emphasized that Yong did not deliberately follow the victim’s family; rather, she was simply on her way back to the restaurant. This aspect was an important part of Yong’s defense to illustrate that there was no malicious intent behind her actions.
District Judge Eddy Tham observed that the force of the kick was substantial enough to cause pain both from the impact of the kick and from the fall that resulted. He condemned the act as “cowardly,” expressing disbelief that Yong, a mother of young children herself, would inflict harm on a child from another family over personal grievances.
Judge Tham pointed out that while the incident may have been impulsive, the kick was clearly a deliberate act, and Yong’s claims of it being accidental were seen as an attempt to evade responsibility.
The judge regarded Yong’s previously law-abiding background as a neutral factor in the case, indicating it did not significantly influence his decision. During the court proceedings, Yong was accompanied by her husband and allowed to sit due to experiencing lower back pain.
According to the law, voluntarily causing hurt can result in a prison sentence of up to three years, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both, with penalties potentially doubling for offenses against minors under 14 years of age.
Image via google for illustration
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