SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man was sentenced to 16 months in jail after he stole a knife from a restaurant to stab another man at an arcade, following a dispute.
He was also found to have been involved in a separate fraud case involving the misuse of his Singpass credentials.
Wang You (transliteration from Chinese) pleaded guilty on 18 July to three charges: one of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, one under the Computer Misuse Act, and another under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA).
Four other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing, reported Shin Min Daily News.
The incident stemmed from strained relations between Wang and the 22-year-old victim.
The two had initially met while playing a racing game as teammates at Timezone arcade, located in the basement of Orchard Xchange near Ion Orchard.
However, a few weeks later, the victim removed Wang and his friends from the team.
On 11 August 2024, Wang sought revenge by enlisting at least two friends to misuse the victim’s mobile number on ride-hailing and delivery apps, such as Grab and Lalamove.
This resulted in the victim receiving repeated one-time passwords (OTPs), which caused him significant distress.
The victim eventually lodged a police report.
Stabbing at Arcade
On 8 September 2024, Wang and the victim coincidentally showed up at the arcade at the same time.
The victim confronted Wang about the OTP spam, leading to a heated argument.
During the dispute, the victim slapped Wang twice.
Arcade staff intervened and advised both men to leave, but the victim returned to continue playing the racing game.
Fuelled by anger and a desire for revenge, Wang proceeded to a nearby Japanese restaurant, where he sat near the kitchen counter.
To distract a waiter, he asked for help charging his phone.
While the waiter was occupied, Wang stole a kitchen knife and hid it in his underwear before leaving the restaurant.
At 6:42pm, Wang returned to the arcade and attempted to stab the victim in the stomach but missed.
As the victim recoiled in panic, Wang struck again, piercing the victim’s clothes—worth S$800—and inflicting a puncture wound to his upper abdomen.
Wang was subdued by arcade staff but allegedly threatened to stab the victim again after being restrained.
The victim later sought treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and was given two days of medical leave.
His total medical expenses amounted to S$154.
Linked to Fraud Case
Further investigations uncovered Wang’s involvement in a separate fraud case.
In March 2024, while unemployed, Wang had handed over his Singpass details to an unknown individual.
That person subsequently used Wang’s credentials to open five bank accounts, which were later used to receive and transfer sums exceeding S$480,000 and S$470,000 respectively.
Police confirmed that the transactions were connected to a fraud scheme, following reports from victims who stated their funds had been transferred into the accounts under Wang’s name.
Plea for Leniency and Sentencing
Wang’s lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating that Wang was not in a good mental state at the time of the offences but has since received treatment.
The lawyer also noted that Wang was remorseful and had opted to remain in remand voluntarily to reflect on his actions, even though he was eligible for bail.
The court sentenced Wang to 16 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay S$954 in compensation.
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