Jahalal Ali was sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt and one count of mischief by fire. - Photo: ST file
SINGAPORE: During his stay in a nursing home, a 68-year-old man attacked another resident and set a mattress on fire.
Jahalal Ali was sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail on Tuesday (Dec 16) after he pleaded guilty to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt and one count of mischief by fire.
He was given an additional 49 days’ jail for breaching a remission order for past offences, which required him to keep out of trouble from Jan 9, 2023, to June 18, 2025.
Another two charges over voluntarily causing hurt and two over committing a rash act were taken into consideration at sentencing.
Court documents stated that Jahalal was a resident of the home and shared a room with the victim, Chua Seng Huat, 80.
The documents did not indicate when Jahalal started living at the facility.
On March 5, 2024, a care worker in the home found Jahalal punching and kicking Chua in the head, as he was unhappy that the latter made noise in their shared room at night.
Chua was examined at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. He did not suffer any significant injuries.
Jahalal attacked Chua again on Nov 18, 2024, when the latter asked him to leave the hall repeatedly.
Besides slapping and punching Chua, Jahalal also stepped on the victim’s chest while he was on the ground. Chua suffered injuries to his left elbow and had to wear an arm sling.
On Aug 15, Jahalal was unhappy with the food served to him and acted out by throwing down a mattress from the second level of the home.
He then went to the first floor and set fire to the mattress with a lighter.
A staff member of the home extinguished the fire and called the police. Jahalal was arrested and remanded for one day.
On Sept 26, Jahalal slapped a female resident on her face twice, threw a chair at a male staff member, and hit him with it.
Another staff member called the police. Jahalal was arrested and has been in remand since.
DPP Ng sought an imprisonment term of 14 to 17 weeks for his offences, and an additional 49 to 63 days for Jahalal, noting the frequency of his offending behaviour.
He said: “The accused has demonstrated a consistent pattern of antisocial and aggressive behaviour over the course of over two years while living in the Bukit Batok Home for the Aged.
“It should be strongly impressed upon the accused that he cannot continue to behave in such a manner should he continue living in a home.”
He highlighted that Jahalal committed the offences against the same victim in the span of eight months, and was the aggressor on both occasions.
In mitigation, Jahalal, who appeared in court via video link, told the judge through an interpreter: “I apologise for my offence and I hope Your Honour can send me back to the (home) as soon as possible.”
For voluntarily causing hurt, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
For mischief by fire, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined. - The Straits Times/ANN
