On Jan 15, Hennayaka Mudiyenselage Damith Chathuranga H, a 31-year-old Sri Lankan, was sentenced to 13 weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable person. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: While working as a healthcare assistant at a nursing home, a man pushed an 87-year-old patient’s head against the bed rails and choked him as he was trying to speak.
On Thursday (Jan 15), Hennayaka Mudiyenselage Damith Chathuranga H, a 31-year-old Sri Lankan, was sentenced to 13 weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable person.
The court heard that Damith was employed at Ren Ci @ Woodlands at the time of his offences, with his main responsibility to care for patients at the nursing home.
Damith knew the victim was a vulnerable person as he was a fall risk and suffered from dementia, among other medical conditions, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Kai.
On July 11, 2025, Damith and another healthcare assistant were tasked with bringing four patients back to their beds at about 5pm, but did not do so, as Damith was working on the duty roster at that time and went on a break at 5.30pm.
His colleague ended his shift at 6pm, leaving Damith to care for the four patients alone.
At around 6.45pm, after wheeling the victim to his bed, Damith lifted him onto the bed roughly.
As he was changing the victim’s diapers, Damith pushed the victim’s head with his hand, causing the man’s head to hit the bed rails.
Damith then choked the victim, who fell backwards onto the pillow. As the victim tried to speak, Damith choked him again.
After changing his diapers, Damith hit the back of the victim’s head twice and walked away.
About 20 minutes later, when he returned to the victim’s bed and saw that his legs were hanging over the bed rail, Damith hit the victim on the head again.
As Damith walked away, he heard the elderly man making some noises and came back once again to hit him on the head.
In a media statement, Ren Ci Hospital said it was made aware of the incident on July 12, a day after Damith’s acts, through a routine review of its CCTV system.
“Upon knowledge of the case, we took immediate action, suspending the staff for the duration of the internal investigation and reaching out to the resident’s family,” said the spokesman, adding that a board of inquiry was convened to investigate the incident in detail.
Damith was subsequently dismissed from Ren Ci. A police report was filed on July 15, and he was arrested on July 18.
DPP Ng sought a jail term of 14 to 18 weeks, noting that the victim was unable to remember the attacks he suffered due to his dementia.
“This enhances his vulnerability because he was not even able to complain or seek help after the event, which leaves him at the mercy of recurring abuse,” said the prosecutor.
A spokesman for Ren Ci Hospital said: “We have reinforced staff training to prevent future incidents, and will continue to be vigilant and proactive in maintaining the highest standards of care within our facilities.” - The Straits Times/ANN
