SINGAPORE: A training assistant at the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (Minds) flew into a rage and attacked one of its disabled clients, who was later found to have a fractured rib.
Singit Jemlan Catalino, a 32-year-old Filipino, pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the victim and was sentenced to 10 months’ jail on Thursday (Aug 15).
Catalino started working at the social service agency’s Eunos Training and Development Centre in Jalan Ubi in April 2022. His responsibilities included ensuring the safety of its disabled clients.
At around 4pm on Jan 4, 2024, he was the duty officer for the clients’ dismissal for the day.
The 36-year-old male victim, who had been diagnosed with intellectual disability and epilepsy, was one of them.
Stressing that the man is a vulnerable person, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min told the court: “He is on long-term medication to manage his epilepsy and suffers from epileptic fits three to four times a month.
“He also has a vision problem, needs guidance while walking on uneven surfaces, and requires supervision when stepping up and down on staircases.”
While waiting to go home, the man grew impatient and started pacing up and down while shouting vulgarities.
Catalino told him to sit down and wait for his turn to board a van that would take him home.
The victim then approached Catalino twice and shouted obscenities at him.
When Catalino was approached for the third time, he grabbed the man by his arm and the back of his neck. The victim reacted by throwing a punch at the Filipino’s left cheek.
This was not the first time the victim had behaved in a verbally and physically abusive manner towards Minds staff, the court heard.
Catalino retaliated by punching the victim in the face.
DPP Tan said: “The accused... pushed him down by holding the victim’s neck with both hands, causing the victim to lose balance and fall backwards on the ground. The accused then dragged the victim by his shirt collar for about 3m.
“While the victim was lying on the ground, the accused rested his knee on the victim’s abdomen and slapped him several times on his face, before several other training officers came over to pull the accused off the victim.”
The attack lasted around a minute, and the police were alerted the next day.
The victim sought medical treatment at different clinics and a report dated March 18 stated that his injuries included a fractured rib.
He was referred to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, but court documents did not disclose his current condition. - The Straits Times/ANN
