Mental evaluation for man who struck MSF officer
Tan Seng Choon, 56, leaving the State Courts with a companion after being charged for causing Hurt to a MSF Officer. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The 56-year-old man charged with slapping and punching a female officer from the Ministry of Social and Family Development has a long history of schizophrenia, and will be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric evaluation for two weeks.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Andre Chong told the court today (Jan 18) that Tan Seng Choon, who allegedly assaulted Ms Lim Sock Ling at a Social Service Office in Toa Payoh last November, had been admitted to the hospital for nine days after his arrest “to stabilise his condition”.
Citing a lack of information on Tan’s state of mind during the attack, DPP Chong requested a further remand to determine if the accused was fit to take a plea.
Tan had visited the office in Toa Payoh to apply for financial help, but turned violent during an interview with Ms Lim. Other officers from the ministry tried to stop him, and the police were called. Ms Lim, 34, was sent to the hospital for treatment for injuries, and has since returned to work.
Posting on Facebook after the incident before Tan’s mental state was known, Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said that he would not tolerate any behaviour by anyone who hurts his officers. “We will do our utmost to protect them in their course of their duties,” he wrote. “While I can understand the anxiety of some of those whom we serve, there is a line that just cannot be crossed.”
Tan returns to court on Feb 1.
