Man, 55, admits to role in ‘heinous, brutal’ roadside attack on man suspected of affair with his niece

SINGAPORE — Thinking that his niece was having an affair, a man, along with his niece’s estranged husband and others, pinned the person they suspected to be her lover to the ground and attacked him for half an hour.
To further humiliate the victim, they stripped him, recorded videos, and sent them to 500 of his contacts including colleagues, friends and neighbours.​
The offender, 55, faced a trial though he pleaded guilty to some charges during the trial.
In the end, he has five convictions including criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt, disorderly conduct, and abetting to distribute intimate images. 
The offender was due to be sentenced on Thursday (Aug 29), but the judge adjourned the sentencing until Oct 8 after saying that she needed time to consider the submissions of the prosecution and defence.
The niece’s estranged husband, 42, is a co-accused in this case. At the time of the incident, the couple were undergoing divorce proceedings. 
The other co-accused are the offender’s son, 24, and his girlfriend, 23. All the cases of the co-accused persons have been dealt with and they have been sentenced. 
The man’s 37-year-old niece was also a victim in the attack. He slapped and kicked her, and dragged her by the neck. 
He, the niece and the male victim, also aged 37, as well as the others cannot be named by court order to protect the victims’ identities. 
On Feb 7, 2020, at about 10pm, a group consisting of the offender, his son, his son’s girlfriend, and his niece’s estranged husband decided to follow the niece when she left home with her suspected lover. 
When the pair got into a car, the group followed the two in their respective vehicles. 
The group kept in contact and updated each other on the location of the pair’s car. 
At one point, the man lost sight of the car and could not catch up. However, his son and niece’s estranged husband were tailing the pair closely. 
The niece and her suspected lover were driving towards Woodlands Checkpoint. 
When he exited Bukit Timah Expressway, the estranged husband and his son coordinated a driving manoeuvre to trap the victims. 
The estranged husband placed his vehicle directly behind the victims’ car while the younger man stopped immediately in front of the vehicle. 
The victims’ car was wedged in between and could not drive away. 
The younger man instructed his girlfriend, who was in the car with him, to record the incident. 
He then alighted from his car with the estranged husband and confronted the pair in the car. 
The suspected lover indicated that he did not want to get out of the vehicle. 
This angered the estranged husband. He kicked the car’s side mirror and shouted at the other man to step out of the car. 
The other man complied. He and the woman stepped out onto the grass patch beside the road. 
The estranged husband punched the victim multiple times while the younger man pinned the victim to the ground.
The younger man held the victim in a chokehold with his arms around his neck.
While the victim was pinned, both the estranged husband and the younger man punched and kicked the victim’s face and body numerous times. They were also shouting vulgarities at him.
Among other actions, the estranged husband also stepped back and performed multiple football kicks to the victim’s head. 
He also kicked the victim many times in his crotch and spat in his face. He was also shouting at the victim, demanding to know the relationship between the victim and his estranged wife.
The younger man poked the victim’s eyes and choked him repeatedly to the point that he could not breathe. When the victim begged him to release his grip, the younger man started punching and slapping his face. 
The offender, who had not yet arrived, was guided to where the attack was unfolding by the younger man’s girlfriend. Court documents stated that he arrived a short time after the attack began. 
When the niece tried to intervene, she was spat on by her husband, who shouted at her. 
She was also attacked by the newly arrived offender, who slapped and kicked her and dragged her by her neck.
Court documents stated that throughout the attack, the offender had:
While they were attacking the victim, the three men wanted to humiliate him further. The younger man continued to restrain the victim while the estranged husband and the offender pulled down his pants to expose him. 
When the victim tried to resist, the man punched his abdomen, the younger man poked his eyes a second time, and the estranged husband kicked his crotch.
The estranged husband then took a video of the victim while the younger man held him down. The video showed the victim’s injured face and exposed the victim while the group was insulting him. 
The estranged husband then sent this video to more than 500 of the male victim’s contacts over WhatsApp. This included the victim’s colleagues, friends, neighbours and sporting teammates.
Court documents stated that this attack lasted half an hour, with the male victim pinned to the ground and choked by the younger man 
The estranged husband and the younger man alternated striking the victim’s head and body. Towards the end, the estranged husband kicked the victim’s private parts. 
Among his injuries, the victim suffered bruising on his face, a fracture beneath his right eye, a fracture on his right collarbone, and a minor head injury. 
He was offered 51 days hospitalisation leave. He also lost his job.
When police officers arrived at the scene and told the group to calm down, the three men continued to shout derogatory insults at the niece. Court documents stated that they also loudly sang “happy birthday” to mock her. 
They stopped shouting only when they were placed under arrest.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin sought a sentence of at least five years and six months’ in jail and a fine of at least S$2,000.
In his closing submissions, DPP Bin said that the offender could have put a stop to the fight upon arriving at the scene but decided to join “the fray” and became one of the central figures in a “heinous, brutal attack”. 
DPP Bin added that not only was the male victim “physically broken” that night, he was also “mentally broken” after the estranged husband sent out the videos.
“Despite an utter lack of any reason to cause hurt, the (offender) seized the opportunity for violence.”
The offender was represented by defence lawyer Satwant Singh of law firm Satwant & Associates.
Mr Singh sought a sentence of 14 months’ jail and a fine of S$2,000 for his client. He said that his client was only caught in the “heat” of the moment and it was not “premeditated”. 
For criminal intimidation to cause grievous hurt that is done by several persons, the man could be jailed up to 10 years or fined, or both. 
Anyone convicted of voluntarily causing hurt can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000 or both. 
For disorderly conduct, the man could be jailed for up to six months, or fined for S$2,000, or both.
For distributing or threatening to distribute intimate images or recordings, the man could be jailed for up to five years, fined, or caned, or any combination of such punishments.