Men fight with chopper and saw over money
Man jailed 8 months for role in fight over money
They fought to settle a dispute over money.
One was armed with a saw, the other with a chopper.
But they both lost when they were arrested and jailed.
Car workshop worker Joseph Tan Chee Meng, 49, simply could not stay out of trouble.
In March last year, he assaulted a man and threatened to kill him.
He got off with a police warning on June 11 that year.
But Tan, who has been in and out of jail since the 1990s for assault and drug offences, was at it again less than a month later.
He used a saw to attack Kua Cheow Wah, 38, at a carpark near Block 176, Boon Lay Drive, to settle their money dispute.
Tan was yesterday jailed for eight months after pleading guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt with the weapon.
One count each of voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation were taken into consideration during sentencing.
On July 1, he had arranged to meet Kua at the carpark around 10am to settle the dispute.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yi Ling said Tan had armed himself with a saw wrapped in newspapers.
Kua came with a chopper.
They ran towards each other and fought.
Kua slashed Tan's wrist with his chopper and Tan struck back several times with the saw.
A witness called the police.
The men fled the scene and got rid of their weapons.
Tan went to the National University Hospital later that dayand he was treated for a deep cut on his right wrist.
Kua, who suffered cuts to his right arm and left hand, went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital five days later.
He was jailed five months on Feb 26 this year for his role in the fight.
Urging the court to jail Tan for nine months, DPP Goh told District Judge Liew Thiam Leng that Tan was a member of an unlawful society.
His lawyer, Ms Hilda Foo, asked Judge Liew to sentence him to no more than five months' jail.
She said Kua, who suffered minor injuries, had provoked her client.
For voluntarily causing hurt with the saw, Tan could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned.
On March 21 last year, Tan had punched and kicked Mr Teo Teow Koon at Block 175 in the same neighbourhood.
A week later, he met Mr Teo again at the same spot and threatened to kill him by saying: "You all don't let me see you again or I will let you all die."
The police were notified and Tan was warned last June.
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