He stabs man over $3,000 loan
[video=youtube;P-ykosaWTpQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-ykosaWTpQ[/video]
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Thursday, Jun 16, 2016
He has a history of committing violent offences dating back to 1970 when he was jailed for robbery.
Before his latest offence, Tan Loon Hoo, now 64, was jailed for six months in February last year for assault.
But the jobless man did not learn his lesson and reoffended just months after his release.
He was jailed for a year yesterday after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon around 5.30pm on Dec 21 last year.
Tan went to a coffee shop at Lorong 6 Geylang to confront Mr Hui Sin Hai, who had allegedly borrowed $3,000 from him.
When a quarrel broke out, he took out a flick knife with an 8cm blade and used it to stab Mr Hui, 62, on the left side of his chest and left arm.
WARDED
Mr Hui was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he was warded until Dec 25.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Caleb Tan said the blade pierced Mr Hui's lung, which had to be drained of fluid.
He urged District Judge Lim Keng Yeow to jail Tan for a year to 15 months. He said Tan was jailed for two years in 1970 for robbery, and two months in 1981 for voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon.
Highlighting Mr Hui's serious injuries, DPP Tan added that an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) report said Tan has a high risk of reoffending.
Tan's lawyer, Mr Yu Jun Wen, asked Judge Lim to sentence him to not more than eight months' jail.
In mitigation, he said Tan had not taken the knife to specifically hurt Mr Hui but usually carried it to whittle toothpicks.
Mr Yu also said that according to an IMH report, Tan was diagnosed with late onset psychosis and experienced auditory hallucinations.
He added: "The accused's disorders may have affected his ability to curtail his impulses and may also have impaired his judgment of the incident."
For voluntarily causing hurt, Tan could have been jailed up to seven years and fined, or caned.
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