Elderly man shoved to death over drug dispute in Geylang, attacker gets 6 years 10 months jail and caning
A dispute over pills in a Geylang back alley turned fatal when a 67-year-old man died after being repeatedly shoved to the ground.
Shin Min Daily News reported that on Aug 3, 2024, Zubir (transliterated) and his wife went to a back alley near 669 Geylang Road to buy illegal drugs from a dealer. These included cough syrup, prescription stimulant Armodafinil, and Erimin-5 tablets, commonly known as sleeping pills.
41-year-old Zubir lied to the dealer that it was his and his wife’s birthdays, in an attempt to get free drugs. After being refused, Zubir approached the victim and asked for money. The older man gave him $20, which Zubir used to buy cough syrup.
The two later spoke about sleeping pills, with the victim taking out some tablets to show Zubir. Not long after, the victim complained to the dealer that some of his pills had gone missing after Zubir touched his pocket.
When confronted, Zubir denied the accusation and flew into a rage, hurling vulgarities at the victim.
Between 2.32pm and 2.35pm, Zubir pushed the elderly man to the ground and punched him. As the victim tried to get up using his cane, Zubir attempted to snatch it away and pushed him down again.
Although Zubir’s wife and the dealer tried to intervene, the confrontation escalated. The victim stood up to continue arguing, but was shoved again, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.
Zubir picked up a broken part of the cane and threw it at the victim.
The assault continued until the dealer stepped in, helped the injured man onto a chair and told Zubir to leave. At that point, the victim’s eyes were red and he was bleeding from his nose and mouth.
However, about three minutes later, Zubir unexpectedly returned.
As the victim slowly approached him, Zubir shouted at him again before forcefully pushing him to the ground for the fifth time. The victim’s head struck the ground and he was unable to get up.
When the dealer returned shortly after, the victim was foaming at the mouth and bleeding from his ears and nose.
He was still conscious when police arrived and even attempted to sit up at about 2.55pm, but later died in hospital from his injuries.
The accused was subsequently charged with 13 offences, including voluntarily causing grievous hurt, intentional assault, and theft. He pleaded guilty to four charges on April 24, with the remaining charges taken into consideration.
He was sentenced to six years and 10 months’ jail, as well as 12 strokes of the cane.
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