By Christine Tan for The Straits Times
Copyright tnp
SINGAPORE – A man who allegedly punched a priest at the Church of the Holy Spirit was charged with hurting or using criminal force on at least 12 people, including three at another church.
Huang Guang Zheng, 22, was charged with voluntarily causing hurt by hitting Father Cary Chan on his face at the Roman Catholic church in Upper Thomson on Feb 9.
He was also charged with causing damage to a wooden door of the church by slamming it against the wall six times and toppling a potted plant.
Huang was handed 21 charges on Aug 18, including nine counts of voluntarily causing hurt, five counts of using criminal force, four counts of mischief and three charges of public nuisance.
Father Chan, the church’s assistant parish priest, had told media then that Huang is visually impaired and has special needs.
Huang also allegedly hurt three people at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jurong East in August 2024, and eight others at public places including MRT stations and hawker centres.
According to charge sheets, Huang allegedly committed the offences between April 2024 and July 2025.
On the morning of Aug 17, 2024, he allegedly hurt three people at the Seventh-day Adventist Church by kicking and punching them.
He was also charged with causing annoyance to church attendees by shouting loudly during the church service, and slamming a glass door of the church, shattering it.
In December 2024, January 2025 and July 2025, Huang purportedly hurt or used criminal force on people at MRT stations and on board a moving train.
On Jan 25, at the Maxwell MRT station platform, Huang allegedly used guiding sticks to hit a woman’s head and shoulders twice, and charged at a man, causing him to fall backwards.
In another incident on July 12, he allegedly spat on a man at HarbourFront MRT station.
His other purported offences include punching a person’s neck and shoulder, and pushing another individual on Dec 10, 2024, at Maxwell Food Centre.
He was also charged with spitting on a cashier counter and toppling coffee cups at a hawker centre in Sengkang, and throwing a plastic container at a food centre in Bishan, among other acts.
Court documents do not give more details on what caused the various incidents.
According to court records, his defence lawyer will be sending representations to challenge his mental capacity to plead in court.
A community case conference has been scheduled for him at the State Courts Centre for Specialist Services, which consists of a team of psychologists, counsellors and social workers who help offenders and their families.
During such conferences, the specialists try to understand the underlying causes of offending behaviour, and may refer offenders to other social service agencies.
His case will be heard again on Sept 29.
