Man jailed for biting off another man's ear
Tan Wei Yong (above) threw a punch at Mr Teng Teng Yao and bit off part of his left ear during a row.
Published 57 min ago
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent
A former distribution manager from Tuck Lee Ice was yesterday sentenced to 21/2 years' jail and three strokes of the cane after he bit and severed part of another man's ear.
Tan Wei Yong, 43, had quarrelled with the director of an events management company after the Sundown Ultra Marathon two years ago on Sept 15, 2013.
He admitted to grievously hurting Mr Teng Teng Yao, 34, at the Marina Barrage by biting his left ear, causing a traumatic partial amputation and permanent disfigurement.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Claire Poh told the court that Tan was delivering ice for the Sundown Ultra Marathon event on Sept 14. Staff from Mr Teng's company told Tan to re-deliver the correct type of ice as he had delivered the wrong type. Tan was unhappy about this.
The next day, at about 3.15pm after the marathon was over, Tan approached Mr Teng and complained that his company had not cleared the ice in the ice boxes. A quarrel broke out and both men started to shout at each other.
Tan challenged Mr Teng to go "one on one'' with him. He threw a punch at Mr Teng, who pushed him away. Tan then grabbed Mr Teng by his shoulders and bit his left ear, severing a chunk of it that dropped to the floor.
Mr Teng was taken to Singapore General Hospital together with the ear placed in a bag containing ice. A medical report said his ear is permanently disfigured. Mr Teng spent $8,210 on his medical treatment.
Tan had convictions for robbery, drug consumption and trafficking.
His lawyer, Mr Jonathan Wong, said his client, who now runs his own logistics and transport services business, was not a violent person and had been gainfully employed in managerial positions after his release from prison in 2011.
He said Tan, who had paid compensation of $2,000 to Mr Teng, completely lost control of his temper and emotions when he committed the offence, and regretted what he had done.
District Judge Ng Peng Hong said a photograph of the victim showed that nearly half of his ear was bitten off by Tan, and the court took a serious view of the matter. Tan could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined and caned.
