SINGAPORE: When senior citizen Goh Kim Inn hit his father’s head with an umbrella while crossing a road, Jimmy Yar Hock Long, 37, turned around and shoved the 78-year-old assailant to the ground.
Goh hit his head on the ground and died two days later at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
On Aug 27, Yar was sentenced to nine months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to an assault charge.
His 70-year-old father and Goh had a history of altercations over reasons that were not disclosed in court documents.
Goh had previously assaulted Yar’s father in January and March 2024, which saw Goh receiving police warnings on Aug 20 that year.
Yar’s father was also issued a warning for fighting with Goh in a public place on March 21, 2024.
The fatal incident happened just before 9am on May 25, 2025.
Yar and his father were at a pedestrian crossing at the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Wolskel Road when Goh approached them from behind and used an umbrella to hit Yar’s father on the head.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said that Yar then rushed towards Goh and pushed him. Goh fell, hit his head on the ground and stopped moving.
Yar’s sister, who was nearby, called for the ambulance and Goh was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he died of a head injury two days later.
The DPP had asked the court to sentence Yar to between 10 months and a year in jail, stressing that the case involved the most severe form of harm.
Yar’s lawyers Josephus Tan, Cory Wong and Devlin Mohyong, from Invictus Law Corporation, pleaded for their client to be given not more than eight months in jail.
Mohyong told the court: “The deceased was certainly not a helpless victim. Yar then intervened spontaneously because of the surprise assault on his father and his concern for his elderly father’s safety.”
The lawyer added that Yar’s father currently undergoes regular kidney dialysis and is recovering from stage four cancer.
Yar’s bail has been set at $20,000, and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on Sept 28. - The Straits Times/ANN
