During Covid, brisk walking was exempted from the mask rule in Singapore. (Representational)
A Singaporean man of Chinese origin has been convicted of verbally insulting and kicking in the chest an Indian woman, who did not wear her mask properly while brisk walking to the workplace during Covid-19.
Wong Xing Fong, 32, attacked Madam Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai, 57, near the Northvale condominium in Choa Chu Kang in May 2021.
Wong, who was convicted yesterday, is expected to be sentenced on July 31 for kicking Vishnubhai in the chest (assault) and wounding her feelings, The Straits Times newspaper reported.
Vishnubhai testified that she was brisk walking to Choa Chu Kang stadium, where she worked at a fast-food restaurant, with her mask down when she heard someone shouting.
She turned and saw Wong and his fiancee Chua Yun Han. She did not know the couple, but they told her to "mask up".
Brisk walking was one of the activities exempted from covering the mouth and nose with a mask.
The prosecution told the court Vishnubhai explained to the couple that she was brisk walking and gestured to illustrate that she was exercising and sweating.
"The accused scolded the complainant (and verbally insulted her). To de-escalate the matter, the complainant responded, 'God bless you'," the prosecution added.
"The accused, however, kicked the complainant in her chest area. He and (his fiancee) then jogged off.
Vishnubhai testified that an eyewitness helped her to her feet and applied plaster to a wound on her left forearm. She filed a police report that evening.
The prosecution said the eyewitness, who was unrelated to either party, testified that she saw a man kicking the woman.
Describing Vishnubhai as a truthful witness, the prosecution said, "It is absurd to suggest that the complainant framed the accused, a stranger, out of the blue." Wong claimed that Vishnubhai was sarcastic and aggressive, and hurled vulgarities at him.
He also claimed that she spat at him and his fiancee, and he reacted by pushing the victim. While he accepted that he had used vulgarities, he denied they were racial insults.
But the prosecution said any allegation that Vishnubhai spat at him was "fatally contradicted" by the conduct of Wong and his fiancee.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)