SINGAPORE: A moment of irritation over a bicycle bell ended with a migrant worker suffering severe, potentially permanent eye injuries, with a 37-year-old man being sent to prison.
A migrant worker on a bike near the entrance to the Westlite Mandai Dormitory rang his bike bell on Apr 10, 2025, at about 7:47 a.m. to ask a group of men standing on the walkway to move out of the way. After that, a group attack broke out that left him with broken bones in his face and long-term health risks.
According to a report by Lianhe Zaobao on Jan 18, 2026, Lin Wilson (name transliterated), an employee at a moving company, took offence to the worker cycling along the walkway and ringing his bell. One of Lin’s colleagues responded by hurling vulgarities at the worker, escalating the encounter into a verbal dispute after the worker dismounted to confront them.
Court documents showed that when the worker later spoke in Bengali to passing countrymen to seek help from a supervisor, Lin became enraged. Lin slapped the worker, told him to “shut up” and kicked him in the thigh. When the worker pushed back, Lin and his colleagues attacked him together. Even after the worker fell to the ground, Lin kicked him in the face.
Medical reports revealed the seriousness of the injuries. The worker sustained fractures to the orbital floor and nasal bone, along with cuts to his left elbow and hand. Doctors warned that his eyeball may have shifted, potentially causing it to appear sunken, and that the eye numbness could be permanent.
Lin entered a guilty plea to five counts, including driving without a license and willfully causing serious injury. He received a sentence of 13 months and seven weeks in prison, a 36-month ban from possessing any type of driver’s license, and an order to pay S$886 to the victim.
The case highlights how even simple conflicts can escalate into unnecessary violence, where entitlement, stress, and power dynamics may collide with those with the least social protection suffering the most.
While Singapore relies heavily on migrant labour, the case serves as a reminder that disputes over space are never justification for violence, and uncontrolled rage can carry lifelong consequences, for both victim and offender.
