Jail for man who left friend to die after fatal punch

A man was sentenced to jail on Oct 10 for fatally punching his friend, causing him to fall and hit his head on the floor.

- Andrew Wong

Eng Chee Hong, 55, had pleaded guilty on Oct 9 to one count of voluntarily causing hurt, and one charge of driving under the influence of alcohol in a separate incident.

On Oct 10, the Singaporean was sentenced to two years and nine months' jail, a $3,000 fine and disqualification from all classes of driving licences for two years.

Eng had punched a heavily intoxicated Mr Dao Van Chien in the face in the early hours of Jan 1 as he was upset with Mr Chien's drunken behaviour. Eng had known the victim as he was a patron of the coffee shop that Mr Chien worked at.

The punch caused Mr Chien to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete floor. The 38-year-old Vietnamese man died in hospital nearly four days later on Jan 4.