Man admits hitting parents with metal pole
A man with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) flew into a rage when he saw his father using the same piece of tissue to wipe his mouth as well as his nose.
Foo Shun Xiang, 37, hit Mr Foo Sah Leong, 68, with a 1.2m-long aluminium pole and continued beating the older man even after he started bleeding.
When his mother, Madam Chow Ah Lee, 65, tried to intervene, Foo used the same pole to hit her multiple times until it broke. The court heard that her injuries included three fractured ribs.
After the attack, the jobless man told his parents to take a shower as they were covered in blood.
Foo pleaded guilty in court yesterday to one count of using the pole to cause grievous hurt to Madam Chow. A second assault charge involving his father will be considered during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Esther Wong said Foo, who was diagnosed with OCD in 2009, fears dirt and contamination. Despite this, he refused to take his prescribed medication regularly.
From 2009 until this year, he has assaulted his parents on at least four occasions. These incidents, however, were not reported to the police as Foo had threatened to hit his parents if they did so.
Foo was at home with them in their Chai Chee Drive flat at around 11pm on Jan 28 this year when he saw his father wiping his mouth and nose with the same piece of tissue paper. That was when the latest assault happened.
DPP Wong said: "Before they left for the hospital, he raised his voice and threateningly told them to tell their doctors that they sustained their injuries from being attacked by dark-skinned foreigners who were robbing them.
"He admitted he wanted his parents to lie on his behalf so that no police reports would be made against him."
Foo's parents did as they were told but the truth emerged after a nurse who attended to Madam Chow lodged a police report on Jan 31 about the purported robbery.
Foo is expected to be sentenced next Tuesday.
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