Jason Ong Bing Qi pleaded guilty in December 2023 to assaulting his friend, who later died of her injuries. - ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A man who assaulted his drunken female friend and left her unconscious by the road with a fractured skull in Singapore before returning to the nightclub they were in has been handed a jail sentence.
The woman, referred to only as “Joey” in court documents, later died of a head injury.
Jason Ong Bing Qi, who pleaded guilty in December 2023 to assaulting the 33-year-old woman, was sentenced to three years and six months’ jail on Tuesday (March 19).
Joey had been out drinking with three friends at Club VOX in Magazine Road, near Havelock Road, when she bumped into Ong, 33, at around 10.15pm on Nov 5, 2022.
They had only come to know each other that year.
Between midnight and 1am, Joey’s friends left for home and Ong decided he would leave too.
He asked Joey if she wanted to leave the club with him and she agreed, Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh told the court in earlier proceedings.
“The accused knew that the deceased was drunk and she was mumbling when she talked,” added the prosecutor.
Ong tried to book a private-hire vehicle, but could not secure a ride. He then decided to flag down a taxi.
Joey, who had been leaning heavily against Ong, suddenly dropped to the ground and sat there. He tried to pull her up, but she remained in a squatting position and refused to budge.
Upset with her, Ong took her phone and threw it onto a patch of grass. Joey retrieved the device and pushed him away, saying she wanted to go home.
She also repeatedly refused his offer to take her home. Frustrated, Ong grabbed her with both of his hands and swung her onto the ground.
Joey landed hard on her back and did not move. Without checking on her condition, Ong returned to the club.
At around 2am, some passers-by found Joey lying on the ground. They carried her to a nearby sheltered walkway and tried to rouse her.
Just then, a friend called her on her mobile phone and Joey was able to speak. The friend also spoke with one of the passers-by, a Grab driver who agreed to take Joey home for $50.
When she arrived home, her maid helped her into bed, cleaned her up and changed her clothes.
Joey’s husband returned home at around 3.30am and heard her snoring. He slept beside his wife without waking her.
At around 11am, Joey was still snoring and her body was warm to the touch, the court heard. But when her husband returned home at 3pm from lunch, he realised that she was no longer snoring.
Her eyes were open, but she did not respond when he nudged her. She was cold to the touch.
He called 995 and tried resuscitating her. Paramedics and police officers arrived at the home but Joey was pronounced dead soon after.
Ong left Singapore for Thailand two days later on Nov 8, saying he was stressed after receiving calls from his friends and the police about Joey.
He returned to Singapore on Nov 11, 2022, and was arrested the same day.
Ong was granted bail at S$20,000 on March 19. He is expected to surrender himself at the State Courts on March 26 to begin serving his sentence. - The Straits Times/ANN
