Man who spat at and kicked elderly passenger who hushed his kids on bus fined and jailed
Samuel Devaraj
PUBLISHED
30 DEC 2021, 6:43 PM SGT
FacebookWhatsAppTwitter
SINGAPORE - After a man hushed his children on a bus and made remarks about them last August, De Silva Sylvester Marc spat at him and kicked him.
About six months later, using a pram and skateboard, he hit a taxi driver who asked his children to put on their seat belts.
On Thursday (Dec 30), De Silva, 29, was sentenced to five weeks' jail and fined $4,500 in court.
The Singaporean had pleaded guilty on Dec 23 to four charges, including voluntarily causing hurt and using criminal force.
According to court documents, De Silva and his wife were standing in the middle of the bus with one of their children on Aug 10 last year, while their other two children were sitting near the front.
As they were about to alight, a 70-year-old male passenger, who was with his wife, hushed De Silva's children and told them to keep quiet, saying they were in a public place.
The couple and the family alighted at the same stop near Block 223 Bukit Panjang Road.
As the 70-year-old man continued to make remarks about his children, De Silva confronted him and entered into a verbal dispute with him.
During the dispute, De Silva pulled his mask down and spat at the man's face.
The man did not physically retaliate but shouted at De Silva's family.
As the man and his wife, a 61-year-old woman, were about to board another bus, De Silva ran up to the man and kicked him at the left side of his back.
He also placed his hands on the man's shoulders.
The man fell forward and collided with his wife, who fell inside the bus. Her left arm hit the metal railings beside the driver's seat.
De Silva entered the bus and the man and him continued their verbal dispute.
Jail for man who spat at auxiliary officer and confronted security officer with spanner
Jail for Singaporean involved in bus attack that fractured driver's nose
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh said: "During the dispute, the accused once again pulled down his mask and spat at the man's face. The accused also smacked his head once with his right hand and hurled vulgarities at him before leaving (the bus)."
Though the man did not seek medical assistance, his wife visited a polyclinic and was found to have bruises on her left arm and fingers.
On Feb 21 this year, De Silva, his three children and his domestic helper took a taxi in Somerset.
As De Silva was placing a pram and a skateboard in the boot, the driver asked two of the children to wear their seat belts, saying their father would be fined if they were caught not wearing them.
Soon after turning the vehicle out of the taxi stand, the driver turned back and saw that two of the children were not wearing their seat belts and told them to do so.
In response, De Silva demanded to know why the cabby had shouted at his children.
The two men entered into a verbal dispute, during which De Silva challenged the driver to a fight.
The driver drove into the drop-off point at the *Scape shopping mall and asked De Silva and his family to leave the taxi. He helped them to open the boot to retrieve the items in it.
Jail for Singaporean involved in bus attack that fractured driver's nose
5 months' jail for man who kicked pregnant girlfriend and spat at Aetos officer
While removing the pram from the taxi, De Silva swung it at the driver, hitting his right arm.
Fearing further violence, the victim pushed De Silva away.
De Silva used the skateboard to hit the left arm of the driver, who retaliated by pushing him again. The driver called the police.
He suffered injuries including abrasion and swelling and was given five days medical leave.
In court on Thursday, before receiving his sentence, De Silva read a letter he had prepared and apologised for his actions.
Choking up, he said: "My kids are my everything."
His lawyer, Mr Levin Low, said his client's daughter will be starting Primary 1 at the start of next year and asked if his sentence could be deferred.
District Judge Melissa Tan granted the deferment and De Silva will begin his sentence on Jan 14 next year.
