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SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (PTI) – Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai, a woman of Indian origin, said she could not get over the trauma of the Chua Chu incident nearly two years after a man allegedly kicked her chest and hurled racial slurs at her on May 2021. On the 7th, Kang Housing Estate.
The 57-year-old spoke at the District Court on Wednesday, the first day of the trial of defendant Huang Xingfang, now 32.
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Wong has denied the allegations against him.
According to court documents, Wong is accused of making a racial slur against Hindocha with the intent to “hurt” her “racial feelings”. He is also accused of intentionally inflicting injury by kicking Hindocha in the chest during a racially aggravated attack.
Hindocha was called as the prosecution’s first witness on Wednesday, but she broke down as she walked into the courtroom, TODAY reported.
It was unclear whether she cried when she saw Wong, but District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan put the case on hold to give her time to collect herself and set up a screen to protect her from being seen, the report said.
About 30 minutes later, the trial resumed, with Hindocha appearing to tell the court what happened on the day of the attack.
Hindocha said she usually walks briskly to work because she doesn’t have time to do any other form of exercise before work and pulls the mask down to her chin to breathe more freely.
At the time, Singapore’s COVID-19 regulations required everyone to wear a mask unless they were exercising.
She told the court that as Hindocha approached a bus stop next to her Northvale apartment on Choa Chu Kang Drive, she heard someone yelling at her from behind.
She turned to see “a couple”, Wong and an unnamed woman, gesturing to her to put on the mask. She gestured backwards to indicate that she was exercising and sweating.
At that point, Hindocha said, Wong walked up to her and hurled racial slurs at her.
“I don’t like fighting, sir, so I said, ‘God bless you,'” she said, adding that Wong then ran up to her and gave her a “flying kick” in the chest.
Hindocha said the impact caused her to fall on her back, bleeding from her left forearm and palm.
She claims Wong and his female companion then “jogged” off as if nothing had happened.
“Sir, I cried very loudly. I was very scared. To this day, (if) you took me (to) that road, I would cry… I was very scared,” she said.
She said a woman at the bus station helped her to her feet and gave her first aid ointment for her injuries.
Hindocha said she spoke to her husband and manager about her ordeal at work and reported the incident to police later that night after she finished her second job as an English teacher at a tuition centre. On 10 May, she was examined by a doctor at a general hospital.
When asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Foo how the incident had affected her, Hindocha said she felt both scared and sad.
Wong’s lawyer told Hindocha his client’s position was that she was not exercising and had no reason to take off the mask.
He added that Wong did not use foul language towards her or kick her in the chest.
Wong also claimed Hindocha spat at him and told him sarcastically that she was walking briskly and he should mind his own business.
Hindocha disagrees with all of these statements.
In DPP Foo’s review, Hindocha said that while she had difficulty remembering the exact location of the attack, she clearly remembered Wong kicking her.
The second witness was the doctor who cared for Hindocha.
The trial will continue on Thursday and Friday before being adjourned until early February.
Anyone found guilty of intentional injury can be jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or both.
However, if the offense is racially or religiously aggravated, the court may sentence the person to 1.5 times the penalty that the person would otherwise have received.
Those found guilty of willfully hurting the religious or racial feelings of any person could be jailed for up to three years or fined, or both.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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