SINGAPORE, Aug 27 — A 37-year-old man was sentenced to nine months’ jail today for shoving a 78-year-old man who had struck his father with an umbrella, causing the elderly man to fall and suffer a fatal head injury.
The Straits Times reported that Jimmy Yar Hock Long pleaded guilty to an assault charge over the May 25, 2025 incident.
Yar and his 70-year-old father were crossing the road near the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Wolskel Road when Goh Kim Inn, 78, approached from behind and hit Yar’s father’s head with an umbrella.
Yar reportedly rushed towards Goh and pushed him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.
Goh was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he died from the injury two days later.
Court documents showed that Goh and Yar’s father had a history of altercations, although the reasons for their disputes were not disclosed.
Goh had received police warnings for assaulting Yar’s father in January and March 2024, while Yar’s father was also warned over a public fight with him.
“The deceased was certainly not a helpless victim,” defence lawyer Devlin Mohyong was quoted as saying, adding that Yar had intervened spontaneously out of concern for his father’s safety.
Yar, whose bail was set at S$20,000 (RM80,510), is expected to begin serving his sentence on September 28.
