Woman in viral hospital argument with police jailed for abusive behaviour, lying in work permit application
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ktv-hostess-jailed-tiktok-hospital-argue-police-3871471
The 29-year-old said the only reason she wanted to enter Singapore was to "have fun".
The woman was embroiled in three separate incidents including an intoxicated series of arguments with hospital staff and the police at Singapore General Hospital after a Grab driver purportedly ran over her foot. (Photos: Douyin) …see more
SINGAPORE: A woman who
made the news for her TikTok videos of her arguments with the police after making a ruckus in the accident and emergency department of a hospital was on Wednesday (Oct 25) sentenced to five weeks and five days' jail and a fine of S$600 (US$438).
Han Feizi, a 29-year-old Chinese national, was embroiled in three separate incidents including a drunken altercation with the security guard at her condominium The Sail @ Marina Bay, an intoxicated series of arguments with hospital staff and the police at Singapore General Hospital after a Grab driver purportedly ran over her foot, and lying in her work permit by claiming she was working as a clerk when she came to work as a hostess and to "have fun".
She pleaded guilty to five charges including using criminal force and causing alarm to a security officer at her condominium, using abusive words on a hospital employee, public nuisance and making a false statement in her work permit application. Another three charges were considered in sentencing.
In sentencing, the judge said there was no excuse for her behaviour, which he called "loutish", "belligerent" and aggressive.
According to court documents by prosecutors from the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Ministry of Manpower, Han applied in August this year to work as a clerk for KDL Elements after her student pass application was rejected.
She never intended to work as a clerk for the company. In her own words, "the only reason she wanted to enter Singapore was for fun", the prosecutors said.
She entered Singapore in July 2023 on an in-principle approval, and her work permit was issued to her in August. To date she has not worked at KDL Elements at all.
THE DRUNKEN INCIDENTS
The first incident involving the security guards at The Sail occurred on the night of Oct 3 this year.
Two security guards found Han squatting at the lift lobby on the ground floor of the condo and offered her help.
She said she was a resident staying on the 44th floor, and the two security guards began helping her up to her unit, but she suddenly became aggressive at the male security guard.
She pointed her finger aggressively at him, and the victim stepped back and asked her to calm down.
While in the lift, Han attacked the guard and had to be restrained. She shouted a vulgarity at him at least five times.
The incident at the hospital occurred on Oct 10, after she was purportedly in a traffic accident where a Grab driver rolled over her foot.
She was dropped off at the Singapore General Hospital's accident and emergency department, but began swearing at the nurses, prompting a police call by an employee.
She was attended to by medical professionals and placed in a wheelchair where she began screaming for the Grab driver, complaining that he had abandoned her and causing annoyance to other patients.
She was drunk as she had consumed a bottle of alcohol, the court heard.
When a hospital employee tried to explain the administrative process to her and asked her to put on a mask, Han threw the mask on the floor and shouted vulgarities.
Han, who has been remanded for almost two weeks, listened to the proceedings from the women's prison via Zoom. She was unrepresented.
The courtroom was packed to the brim with members of the public, with barely an empty seat left, ranging from young to older men and a handful of women.
MITIGATION
The Mandarin interpreter read out her mitigation to the court, in which she expressed her "deepest apologies and remorse".
She said she was very remorseful for her actions and that this was her first time living in a foreign land.
"I've only come to Singapore outside of my own country for slightly more than a month. I'm very sorry. I'm not familiar with the law in Singapore, I should not have reacted in the way that I did," she said.
She said she was "frantic and helpless" after the accident with the Grab driver and shouted in hospital hoping someone would help her as she was "feeling very distressed".
"This is my first time travelling overseas and I didn't expect that I would be caught in this situation," she said.
She asked for leniency and a chance to return to her family and nurse her injuries, adding that three of her closest relatives are cancer-stricken.
"Before I came to Singapore, the meaning of life for me, my whole purpose was to earn as much as possible so as to provide for my family and to alleviate the financial burdens and stress suffered by the family," she said.
She said she reflected on her mistake in custody and wanted to express her "utmost apologies" in open court over the comments she made on social media and the videos she posted.
"I'm so sorry for causing inconvenience and trouble to others. Lastly, Singapore is in fact a multicultural, multiracial society. I ought to exercise tolerance and greater understanding of the facts as well as the law and I should not have reacted in the way that I did," she said.
"I should not have shouted in public, I should not have used those words," said Han, adding in English: "I'm sorry."
