In a recent court hearing, 29-year-old Chinese national Han Feizi was sentenced to five weeks’ and five days’ jail and fined $600 for her involvement in two separate incidents of abusive behavior towards security officers and hospital staff at Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
Han also faced charges for contravening manpower laws.
One of the incidents, which occurred on October 10, gained widespread attention after Han filmed herself arguing with a police officer at the hospital.
The video showed her verbally abusing a hospital employee.
According to reports from The Straits Times, Han appeared in court via video-link from prison, without legal representation but with the assistance of a Mandarin interpreter.
During her mitigation plea, Han expressed remorse and apologized for her actions.
However, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan emphasized that the hospital staff member targeted by Han had been trying to help her. Judge Tan condemned Han’s behavior as loutish and belligerent, stating that there was no justification for shouting abusive words at the victim.
Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) presented five charges against Han, including being a public nuisance, using abusive language against a public servant, using abusive words and criminal force against a security officer, and lying in her work permit application.
Three additional charges of using criminal force on a security officer, using abusive language against a public servant, and working as a freelance hostess without a valid work pass were taken into consideration.
List of all the charges against her :
- One count of public nuisance.
2. Two counts of using abusive language against public service worker or public servant;
3. Two counts of assaulting or using criminal force on security officer;
4. One count of intentionally causing harassment; and
5. Two counts under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Jocelyn Teo, the first incident took place on October 10 when Han arrived at SGH’s accident and emergency department in the early morning. Han claimed that a Grab driver had run over her foot, causing her pain.
However, when a patient service associate attempted to explain the hospital’s administrative registration process and advised her to wear a mask, Han refused and threw the mask on the floor. She proceeded to shout abusive remarks, clenched her fists, and attempted to stand up from the wheelchair, causing alarm to the service associate. Han later admitted to being intoxicated at the time, the report added.
The police received a call regarding a verbally abusive patient at SGH around 2.35am on October 10. When two investigation officers (IOs) interviewed Han at approximately 3.15am, she was uncooperative and refused to provide a statement. Han allegedly used vulgarities in Mandarin against one of the IOs.
She recorded segments of her interaction with the officers on her mobile phone, which she later posted on the Chinese social media platform Douyin, resulting in the video going viral.
Another incident involving Han occurred on October 3 at The Sail at Marina Bay, a condominium in Marina Boulevard. According to DPP Teo, a male security supervisor spotted Han squatting at the condo’s first-floor lift lobby around 9pm.
Together with a female colleague, the supervisor decided to escort her to her unit on the 44th floor. However, Han became aggressive inside the elevator, hurling vulgarities at the supervisor and pushing his neck.
The abuse continued even after they reached the 44th floor, with Han repeatedly shouting vulgarities and pushing him.
Further investigations by the Ministry of Manpower revealed that Han had potentially violated manpower laws. She had made a work permit application on August 11, 2023, claiming she would work as a clerk for a firm called KDL Elements.
However, prosecutors argued that Han had no intention of working for the firm and had only made the application to circumvent the rejection of her student pass application. The prosecution stated that Han’s sole purpose in entering Singapore was for leisure and not employment.
During her mitigation plea, Han acknowledged her lack of tolerance and understanding of the facts and the law. She attributed her actions to being unfamiliar with Singapore’s laws as it was her first time living overseas. However, prosecutors revealed that Han had entered Singapore on multiple occasions since 2019, for short holidays.
Han expressed her apologies for causing inconvenience to everyone and pledged to learn from the experience, promising not to reoffend in the future.
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