Jail, caning for man who slashed woman in robbery attempt

A homeless man, who could not work in Singapore as he was on a student pass, attacked a 64-year-old woman with a razor blade during a robbery attempt, causing multiple wounds on her neck and arms.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

Indian national Shamsher Singh, who turns 27 on March 5, committed the offence in Mountbatten Road in November 2022 and fled the scene empty-handed.

The Singaporean victim, who was then working as a retail assistant, alerted the police after the attack. She was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and was given 30 days of hospitalisation leave. The woman was unable to follow her daily routine for 63 days.

After a trial, Singh was convicted of one count of causing grievous hurt to the woman while attempting to commit robbery.

He also pleaded guilty to two unrelated charges — one count each of theft and voluntarily causing grievous hurt to a teenage boy.

On March 4, he was sentenced to 8½ years in jail, 12 strokes of the cane and a fine of $1,000.

In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tung Shou Pin told District Judge Lim Tse Haw that the victim, who was on her way home from work on Nov 10, 2022, got off bus service 31 at a bus stop near the Singapore Association for the Deaf at around 8.30pm.

DPP Tung added that Singh was sitting at the bus stop when he saw the woman walking towards the lift of a nearby overhead bridge, as she wanted to cross to the opposite side of the road.

The court heard that the woman's legs were too weak to walk up the stairs of the overhead bridge.