Woman who beat up elderly neighbour gets 5 and half years' jail
Ng's attack on Toh in September 2013 was captured on a security camera outside Toh's flat. Video footage showed Ng choking her neighbour, forcing her to kneel and stamping on her head. The elderly woman was also grabbed by the hair and flung to the floor. LIANHE WANBAO FILE PHOTOS.
SINGAPORE: A woman who beat up her elderly neighbour in a "vile" attack and assaulted police officers on several occasions was on Tuesday sentenced to 5 and half years of corrective training, a prison regime for repeat offenders.
Casey Sabrina Ng, 43, pleaded guilty last month to 11 charges, including voluntarily causing hurt to public servants, disorderly behaviour and criminal intimidation. Fourteen other charges were taken into consideration.
Her September 2013 attack on housewife Toh Siew Hong, now 67, was caught on a security camera outside Toh's flat in Chai Chee. It lasted 18 minutes and was previously shown in court.
Referring to the video, which he called "an astonishing visual account", District Judge Mathew Joseph said Madam Toh had been choked, forced to kneel and stamped on the head at least 10 times.
"This was particularly repugnant," he said of the stamping, adding that the elderly woman was later grabbed by the hair and flung to the floor "like a rag doll to be used for (Ng's) perverse amusement".
The judge added: "Yet you were unshaken by your own vile acts of violence and remained emotionless and unmoved while standing in the dock, as I believe you are at this present moment."
That day, Toh was taken to hospital and Ng arrested, but not before she hurled vulgarities at one police officer and kicked another.
She later absconded from court and re-offended while on bail. Her newer offences include kicking a pregnant woman in the abdomen last year.
Ng, also known as Asha Verma, showed no emotion when her sentence was read yesterday. Corrective training is a prison regime of five to 14 years without time off for good behaviour. It is not backdated to the date of remand.
Referring to a pre-sentence report, the judge highlighted that Ng was at "high risk of re-offending".
A psychologist's report said she has a high risk of imminent violence "which can occur in day-to- day interaction with members of the public who she perceives to be disrespectful or threatening".
The judge called this "both disturbing and alarming" as it reveals her volatile nature and the threat she poses. A deterrent sentence was needed, he said, to signal that gratuitous violence in any form, especially inflicted on vulnerable victims, has no place in society.
In mitigation, Ng's lawyer, Foo Juyuan, said there had been improvement in her behaviour, according to various Institute of Mental Health (IMH) reports. He said Ng was prepared to be rehabilitated not "only for her own sake but also for her three grandchildren's sake".
IMH's Dr Jaydip Sarkar said in his report that Ng has a "severe personality disorder", consisting of anti-social, borderline and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.
Said Petrine Lim, principal social worker at Fei Yue Family Service Centre: "It would be wise to contact the police if you witness or know of ongoing violence."
Han Yah Yee, group director at Montfort Care, said people can approach family service centres for help to address aggression. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
