SINGAPORE - An Australian has admitted in a district court he caused a fatal skull fracture to an elderly man after flinging a wine bottle from the seventh storey of a condominium in Spottiswoode Park Road in 2019.
On Friday (Feb 25), Andrew Gosling, 49, pleaded guilty to committing a rash act that led to the death of delivery driver Nasiari Sunee, 73.
Gosling also admitted to causing grievous hurt to Mr Nasiari's wife, Ms Manisah Sitri, who was injured in the right shoulder.
The court heard that Gosling committed the offences when he saw that the people at Mr Nasiari's gathering were Malay-Muslims.
Gosling was at a lift landing on the seventh storey of the property at around 8.30pm on Aug 18, 2019, when he threw the wine bottle towards a group of people in the barbecue area on the fifth storey.
Mr Nasiari was at a housewarming party of a relative when the bottle hit him just as he was about to eat. It also struck Ms Manisah.
The eldest of Mr Nasiari's four children, Madam Nas Suriati Nasiari, had told The Straits Times in an earlier interview that relatives heard two thuds before her father collapsed on the floor with a head wound.
They then spotted an intact glass bottle nearby.
A relative, who is a nurse, attended to Mr Nasiari before an ambulance took him to the Singapore General Hospital.
Madam Nas Suriati, then 44, said her father's heart stopped thrice during treatment and the family decided not to resuscitate him if it stopped a fourth time.
"We didn't want to prolong the pain," she had said.
Mr Nasiari's blood pressure plunged the next morning and he died at around 9am. The grandfather of nine was buried on Aug 20.
Following the incident, the police went door to door at the 35-storey condo to look for suspects.
Residents said officers had shown them a picture of an Italian wine bottle.
They were also asked if they had been drinking wine and whether they were willing to provide fingerprint samples.
Gosling, who had worked in IT, was arrested on Aug 28.
For causing a death by committing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined.
For causing grievous hurt to another person by performing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to four years and fined up to $10,000.
On Friday (Feb 25), Andrew Gosling, 49, pleaded guilty to committing a rash act that led to the death of delivery driver Nasiari Sunee, 73.
Gosling also admitted to causing grievous hurt to Mr Nasiari's wife, Ms Manisah Sitri, who was injured in the right shoulder.
The court heard that Gosling committed the offences when he saw that the people at Mr Nasiari's gathering were Malay-Muslims.
Gosling was at a lift landing on the seventh storey of the property at around 8.30pm on Aug 18, 2019, when he threw the wine bottle towards a group of people in the barbecue area on the fifth storey.
Mr Nasiari was at a housewarming party of a relative when the bottle hit him just as he was about to eat. It also struck Ms Manisah.
The eldest of Mr Nasiari's four children, Madam Nas Suriati Nasiari, had told The Straits Times in an earlier interview that relatives heard two thuds before her father collapsed on the floor with a head wound.
They then spotted an intact glass bottle nearby.
A relative, who is a nurse, attended to Mr Nasiari before an ambulance took him to the Singapore General Hospital.
Madam Nas Suriati, then 44, said her father's heart stopped thrice during treatment and the family decided not to resuscitate him if it stopped a fourth time.
"We didn't want to prolong the pain," she had said.
Mr Nasiari's blood pressure plunged the next morning and he died at around 9am. The grandfather of nine was buried on Aug 20.
Following the incident, the police went door to door at the 35-storey condo to look for suspects.
Residents said officers had shown them a picture of an Italian wine bottle.
They were also asked if they had been drinking wine and whether they were willing to provide fingerprint samples.
Gosling, who had worked in IT, was arrested on Aug 28.
For causing a death by committing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined.
For causing grievous hurt to another person by performing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to four years and fined up to $10,000.
