Son defending father pushed 78-year-old man in fatal incident, gets jail

SINGAPORE: A man who saw his father being attacked by another elderly man rushed to his aid and pushed the elderly attacker to the ground.The 78-year-old man fell, hit his head and died a few days later in hospital.Jimmy Yar Hock Long, a 37-year-old, was sentenced to nine months' jail on Thursday (Aug 27).He pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt that turned out to be grievous.THE CASEThe court heard that Yar's father, Mr Yar Mui Cheoh, had a history of altercations with the deceased, Mr Goh Kim Ann. They lived in the same area.The police had issued warnings to both of them in August 2024. Yar's father received one warning for affray with Mr Goh, while Mr Goh received two warnings for hurt offences against Yar's father.At about 8.45am on May 25 last year, Yar was crossing the road at the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Wolskel Road with his father and other family members.Mr Goh approached Yar's father from behind and began hitting his head with an umbrella.On seeing this, Yar rushed towards Mr Goh, grabbed him and pushed him onto the pavement.The elderly man hit his head on the ground and stopped moving. He was taken to hospital with a fractured skull and warded for a few days, developing general seizures.He remained in a coma despite intervention and was declared dead on May 27, 2025. An autopsy found that he had died from a head injury.The prosecution sought 10 to 12 months' jail, saying the victim was comparatively smaller and weaker than Yar, who was 36 at the time.While acknowledging Mr Goh's role in the incident, Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said the sentence should still reflect that death has ensued from Yar's actions.Defence lawyers Josephus Tan, Cory Wong and Devlin Mohyong from Invictus Law sought not more than eight months' jail instead, pointing to the victim's unprovoked assault on their client's father.Mr Mohyong said Yar intended or knew that he was likely to cause hurt to Mr Goh in pushing him but the fatal head injuries arose when Mr Goh fell and struck his head against the pavement.He said Mr Goh was not helpless, but had approached Yar's father, who is in his 70s, from behind and struck him on the head with an umbrella."Mr Yar then intervened spontaneously because of the surprise assault on his father and his concern for his elderly father's safety," said Mr Mohyong.For voluntarily causing hurt that turns out to be grievous, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.