A 38-year-old man who hurled a glass bottle at a double-decker bus after an argument with a passenger, shattering a window and injuring the passenger's wife, has pleaded guilty to multiple offences.
On Tuesday, December 16, Singaporean Quztaza Kamarudin admitted to one count each of causing hurt by performing a rash act, committing mischief and theft. The court heard that the bottle he threw broke a bus window and struck a 57-year-old woman in the face, leaving her with wounds that required stitches.
The court documents stated that the incident took place on July 5.
Quztaza had boarded bus service 190 in Bukit Panjang at about 5.30 pm and sat on the upper deck. While on board, he consumed soju from a glass bottle.
At around 6.40 pm, as the bus neared a stop close to The Heeren, he attempted to walk down from the upper deck but was blocked by a 60-year-old man, Lim Phang Kai, and his wife. A verbal dispute broke out, during which both men exchanged vulgarities.
Quztaza then alighted from the bus, while the couple remained on the upper deck, with Lim's wife seated next to a window. When the bus stopped at a nearby traffic light, Quztaza walked alongside it and looked out for Lim. He subsequently saw the older man making an obscene hand gesture at him.
Angered by the gesture, Quztaza threw the soju bottle at the bus window where Lim was seated. The bottle smashed through the glass and struck Lim's wife on her left cheek. Lim alerted the police, and his wife was taken to hospital, where her injuries were stitched. She was later discharged and given five days of medical leave.
The prosecution said Quztaza's actions caused more than S$2,700 in damage to the bus. No restitution has been made.
Quztaza was charged in court on July 9 over the bus incident.
While out on bail, he committed another offence. In the early hours of July 26, at about 1.30 am, he went to a convenience store near Boat Quay to buy food.
There, he noticed a bottle of whisky worth S$78 on a shelf. Feeling stressed and unable to legally purchase alcohol at that hour, he decided to steal the bottle, slipping it into his pocket and leaving the store without paying.
A store manager later reviewed CCTV footage after noticing the missing bottle and identified Quztaza as the suspected offender. He was subsequently spotted nearby with the unopened bottle, and police officers arrested him shortly after.
Quztaza is scheduled to be sentenced on December 24.
