Looi Kai Ye, a 37-year-old man with autism and bipolar disorder, has been sentenced to eight months and one week in jail after pleading guilty to causing the death of a 76-year-old man at a bus stop in Tampines last year.
The incident occurred when Looi, who was running to catch a bus, collided forcefully into the elderly man, causing him to hit his head on a metal railing and eventually fall into a coma and pass away.
In addition to this charge, Looi also pleaded guilty to pushing a woman on the chest, committing an obscene act, and a molestation charge. Two other charges of committing an obscene act were taken into consideration for sentencing.
On September 5th of last year, a man and his wife were walking to a bus stop in Tampines when Looi, who was in a rush to catch a bus at the same stop, collided forcefully with the man from behind. Despite the impact causing the man’s head to hit a metal railing and being caught on camera, Looi did not stop to help.
The man was taken to Changi General Hospital where he fell into a coma and tragically passed away the next day due to a head injury.
Earlier in April of the same year, Looi pushed a woman in her sixties hard on the chest at a bank branch in Tampines. The woman fell backwards, momentarily losing consciousness, and suffered a tailbone fracture, superficial abrasions on her elbows, and head injuries.
On March 26, 2021, Looi exited Pasir Ris MRT Station around 8.20am and approached a woman in her 20s who was queuing at a food stall. Suddenly, he thrust his groin against her back while pushing against her.
The victim was startled by the unexpected physical contact and turned to see who had bumped into her as he attempted another thrust. Realizing the victim had seen him, Looi quickly fled the scene, running towards the bus interchange and boarding a bus.
A few days later on April 1, he stood outside a flat in a public housing block and urinated on the apartment’s floor through the locked gate while the front door was partially open. He stopped and ran away when a man inside the flat caught him in the act.
A psychiatric assessment by Dr Sajith Sreedharan Geetha, a senior consultant psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), indicated that Looi’s mental health conditions were significantly related to his molestation charge. Dr Sajith noted Looi’s intense interest in women wearing leather clothing and his tendency to behave in a socially inappropriate and impulsive manner.
A second assessment by Dr Cheow Enquan at IMH suggested that Looi’s bipolar disorder was well-controlled with medication and he was not experiencing a relapse at the time of the incident.
For causing grievous hurt by a careless act, Looi could have faced up to four years in jail or a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.
The penalty for using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a person is a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or caning, or any combination of these punishments. For committing an obscene act, Looi could have been jailed for up to three months, fined, or both.
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