Updated: 02/07/2014 13:02 | By Channel NewsAsia
Man jailed nine months for using sledgehammer to hit friend
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SINGAPORE: A container truck driver was on Friday jailed nine months by a district court for swinging a sledgehammer at his friend, injuring the victim's left wrist.
Lim Boon Cheow, 57, committed the offence on October 4, 2012 -- after a drinking session with another friend where they consumed about 18 bottles of beer.
The court heard that when Lim returned home that night, he had an argument with his wife.
He was unhappy that she had been spending time with the victim, 53-year-old Quek Then Choon, who had been giving her rides home. It is understood that Lim and the victim were long-time friends.
After the argument with his wife, Lim went to the void deck of Mr Quek's home in Jurong West Street 41 and waited for him to come home.
When Lim spotted Mr Quek, he took out a sledgehammer -- which was 65cm long and weighed about 3.4kg -- and started swinging it at his friend. Mr Quek raised his left arm to block the blow and fractured his wrist in the process.
Lim also had another charge of using the sledgehammer to smash Mr Quek's car taken into consideration.
In mitigation, defence counsel Vijay Kumar said Lim had been provoked by the belief that his wife was having an affair with Mr Quek. He added that Lim had confessed his crime to police offices who arrived at the scene and fully co-operated with them.
In handing down the sentence, District Judge Salina Ishak pointed out that Lim's crime had been pre-meditated as he had gone to Mr Quek's home to wait for him.
"Even if you were unhappy, it was not justified for you to react in such an excessive manner," she said.
Lim could have been jailed up to 10 years, and fined or caned. - CNA/ac
