The pandemic has been a hard time for everyone, but violence is never the answer.
A 35-year-old Mongolian woman in Singapore has been jailed for kicking a policeman in the groin, causing him to suffer a bruise. This followed her arrest at a coffee shop back in 6 December last year, where a drunken episode led her to harass innocent customers and passersby.
She stated that having depression from being separated from her family since the pandemic started was what led her to behave violently that day.
How the Attack Happened
According to court documents, Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Chia said that a worker at a Sembawang Road coffee shop had informed the police at about 8.45pm that day that a woman had been harassing customers.
The woman, known as Boldbaatar Odonchimeg, was still behaving in a drunken, rowdy manner when police arrived at the scene.
After successfully handcuffing her, she continued to direct her aggression towards the cops as well as nearby pedestrians, as they made their way towards the car.
The two officers who brought Boldbaatar to the regional lock-up at Woodlands Division Police Headquarters were Senior Staff Sergeant Dhanaletchmi Kuppusamy and her colleague, Corporal Muhammad Islam Angullia Yussoff.
Throughout the journey, she continued to resist the arrest by struggling and behaving aggressively towards both officers. Shen even refused to exit the car initially when they had arrived at the headquarters.
Upon managing to get her to leave, Boldbaatar was eventually taken to an area to get tested for COVID-19, where she started sobbing uncontrollably, shouting, and refusing to sign a consent form. Resultantly, the test was not administered on her.
Following this, another officer, Senior Staff Sergeant Dhana and her colleague took over. They tried making her sit, but this only enraged Boldbaatar even more as she began directing vulgarities at the two.
Upon ushering her to the lock-up premises, Senior Staff Sergeant Dhana then began releasing one of her hands so as to handcuff it to a metal bar situated on the wall. As she immediately began resisting again, Corporal Islam and one other officer had to step in to restrain her.
Even in her drunken state, her aim seemed unaffected, though.
Amidst the scuffle, Boldbaatar kicked Corporal Islam in the groin. In spite of the pain, he continued to help the restraining process, and his attacker was eventually confined to a wheelchair.
Corporal Islam had to seek for medical treatment at a hospital, where he was then given two days of medical leave to recover.
Sentenced to 12 Weeks’ Jail
Suffice to say, Boldbaatar’s aggressive behaviour didn’t sit well authorities.
On Monday, 8 August, she was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail and fined $3,000 after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant and for another charge under the Protection from Harassment Act.
She had initially indicated her intention to appeal against the sentence.
While court papers did not reveal her occupation or purpose for being in Singapore, she stated that depression from being separated from her family was what caused her to act out in public.
She also said that she regretted her actions and has sought help from counselling services.
Her sentence was considered relatively light, as she could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both, for voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant.
For harassment, she could have been jailed for up to 12 months, fined for a sum of up to $5,000, or both.
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