Woman admits to attacking girl outside club

SINGAPORE: Five women, unhappy with a clubber they accused of flirting with their friend’s boyfriend, ganged up on their teenage victim and rained blows on her.

One of the attackers, art school student Grace Quek (pic), 23, pleaded guilty in court yesterday to one count each of assault, rioting and criminal intimidation.

The other members of her group – Jamie Thng, 20, Ang Pek Ling and Gina Yeo, both 21, and Tey Shi Hui, 22, have been dealt with in court earlier.

Ang, Tey and Yeo were sentenced to probation, while Thng, who also committed drug-related offences, was ordered to undergo reformative training for at least a year.

Thng was sent to a reformative training centre where she has to follow a strict regimen that includes foot drills and counselling.

Quek and her group were having drinks at Envy Dance Club at St James Power Station at around 3am on Dec 15, 2017, when Yeo said Ng,

19, a clubber at a nearby nightspot, had kissed one of her friends’ boyfriends.

That friend was not part of the group, the court heard.

Thng, a friend of Ng’s, contacted the teenager, who was then at Club Viva, around 4am and asked to meet her outside the nightspot.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Rimplejit Kaur said: “Upon seeing Ms Ng outside Club Viva, Jamie shouted vulgarities at her, asking her why she had flirted with someone else’s boyfriend.

“When Ms Ng denied this, Jamie and the rest of the group ... slapped, kicked, punched Ms Ng and pulled her hair ... At one point, Quek also pulled Ms Ng by her hair to the ground, held a lighter near Ms Ng’s face, and threatened to burn her face and hair.” A passer-by helped Ng escape her attackers and she sought refuge in another club.

In the meantime, Quek and her group spotted one of Ng’s friends, Loke, 21, and asked her about the teenager’s whereabouts.

Kaur said: “When Ms Loke replied that she did not know, the group got angry (and) started slapping, kicking and punching Ms Loke, and pulled her hair.”

Quek also threatened to burn Loke’s face and hair with a lighter.

The group stopped the assault when a club bouncer intervened.

Ng alerted the police the next day. She suffered injuries including a bruised forehead and scratches on her hands.

Separately, Quek assaulted a 29-year-old woman at Club Luxi, also at St James Power Station, at 4.45am on May 8, 2016.

She slapped the woman, whom she accused of “spreading rumours” about her.

District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam has called for a report to assess suitability of probation for Quek, who is expected to be sentenced on May 30.

For rioting, she can be jailed for up to seven years. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network