The biggest contenders for Singaporean Assholes of the Year award are finally being dragged to court to face the music over a very ugly, highly viral spat with an elderly man at a Toa Payoh hawker centre. Yeah, that one.
Chow Chin Yee, 45, and his 38-year-old wife, Tay Puay Leng, were charged in court today — a few months after both of them were seen bullying 76-year-old Ng Ai Hua over the use of a table. Singapore got shook up after they witnessed the couple publicly bullying the elderly man over a seat on Apr 21, with Chow seen shoving Ng from behind.
But justice comes for all, and they were soon arrested after police reports were made about the couple. In court, Chow is accused of using criminal force by using his body to barge against Ng, as well as behaving in a disorderly manner by pushing bowls and plates off the table when he was confronted. Tay was charged with using abusive words against Ng, with the intent to cause alarm.
The couple’s lawyer have asked for time to make representations, and the two will return to court on July 12. If convicted, Tay could face a fine of up to $5,000 and/or up to six months in jail. Chow on the other hand could face up to nine months in jail and fines up to $3,500 in total for both his charges.
This should put to rest all the misguided attempts led by online vigilantes, who went ballistic in their hunt for the identities of the couple after the video went viral. The wrong parties were mistakenly outed, to no one’s surprise. Lianhe Wanbao however managed to find out more about Chow from his own neighbours, who assured the paper that yes, he really is a textbook twat.
