SINGAPORE: A man who allegedly assaulted 12 people, including a priest at the Church of the Holy Spirit, was charged with attacking a 13th person at another church.
On Monday (Sept 29), Huang Guang Zheng, 23, was charged with voluntarily causing hurt to a man at St Andrew’s Cathedral near City Hall by striking him on the back of his head with a walking stick, on Oct 25, 2023.
In August, Huang was charged with voluntarily causing hurt to Father Cary Chan at the Church of the Holy Spirit, by hitting him on his face at the Roman Catholic church in Upper Thomson Road on Feb 9
Father Chan, the church’s assistant parish priest, had told the media then that Huang is visually impaired and has special needs.
Huang now faces 22 charges in total after he was given 21 charges in August, including for voluntarily causing hurt, using criminal force, causing mischief and being a public nuisance.
During court proceedings on Sept 29, Huang, who was accompanied by police officers and his mother in the dock, raised his voice and demanded the charges be dropped.
His lawyer, Jerome Tan, told the court there was a forensics report being prepared for Huang and sought an adjournment, which was granted.
Tan also asked for his client’s attendance to be dispensed with, which allows his lawyer to attend court proceedings on his behalf.
Addressing District Judge Janet Wang, Huang’s mother, who was crying, said: “Your honour, each time he comes to court, he has all these meltdowns, and it’ll risk him being arrested again. We are going through a lot of stress and anxiety because of this.”
The judge nodded, and said she understood.
As Huang continued shouting, his mother apologised to Judge Wang.
The judge allowed Huang’s attendance to be dispensed with and told his mother: “Please take care, and please take care of him as well.”
His case will be heard again on Nov 10.
Huang’s previous charges involve him allegedly hurting three people at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jurong East in August 2024, and eight other people at public places including MRT stations and hawker centres.
In 2024 and 2025, Huang allegedly hurt or used criminal force on people at MRT stations and on board a moving train.
On Jan 25, at the Maxwell MRT station platform, Huang allegedly used guiding sticks to hit a woman’s head and shoulders twice, and charged at a man, causing him to fall backwards.
On July 12, he is accused of spitting on a man at HarbourFront MRT station.
His other alleged offences include punching a person’s neck and shoulder, and pushing another individual at Maxwell Food Centre.
He was also charged with spitting on a cashier’s counter and toppling coffee cups at a hawker centre in Sengkang, and throwing a plastic container at a food centre in Bishan.
The offence of voluntarily causing hurt carries a penalty of up to three years’ jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
If convicted of using criminal force, an offender can be jailed for up to three months, or be fined up to $1,500, or both. - The Straits Times/ANN
