| Monster.Leen
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5,426 Gender: 
Total SGC$: 3,024.86 |  I'm no Bully of Boon Lay
Victim loses 4teeth after punch. But now attacker says...
EVER since he threw a punch that allegedly knocked four teeth out of another man, he has had to face taunts from neighbours calling him the 'Boon Lay bully'.
Mr Vijayan P, 29, continues to be bugged by the incident on 23 May, during which he is said to have punched Mr Kelvin Lee.
It was reported in The New Paper three days later.
Now, Mr Vijayan wants to air his side of the story - that Mr Lee was no innocent victim, and they had traded one punch each.
Mr Vijayan admitted that while he was worried about the prospect of being sent to jail, he was more concerned about his reputation.
He is upset that those around him think he is 'a real bully'.
Besides, Mr Vijayan said, he wanted people to know that the incident did not happen the way Mr Lee, 29, described it.
Mr Kelvin Lee, who says the attack was unprovoked. --
Said Mr Vijayan, who works as a newspaper recycler: 'I don't go around preying on old ladies or just beating up anybody. I have been living in the area for more than 15 years and I have never got into trouble this way.
'That day, I learnt who was the true bully. It just wasn't me.'
Mr Lee claimed he had lost four teeth after the surprise punch near a block of HDB flats in Boon Lay.
Mr Lee was upset that his attacker was not arrested on the spot.
Mr Vijayan was urged by his wife, Madam Chitra, a housewife, to 'speak up and tell the truth'.
Said Madam Chitra, 29, who has two daughters, aged 9months and 3years: 'I do not support what my husband has done, but I cannot accept it when people think that he is a monster. There is a reason why this whole thing happened.
'My husband is remorseful and the whole incident has affected him. I know him better than anyone else. He is no bully.'
Mr Vijayan claimed that there were 'gaps' in Mr Lee's story, and that it all started because of a child.
Just before noon on 23May, MrVijayan, his brother and two friends, a man and a woman, had been drinking alcohol at a stone table at a void deck at Boon Lay.
The woman had her 4-year-old son with her.
Mr Vijayan, a Jurong West resident, said he preferred to drink there because it is near a provision shop which sells Chinese liquor.
BOY WAS PLAYING
The boy played near the group. He would occasionally run around, but always stayed within sight of his mother, Mr Vijayan said.
At around 3.30pm, Mr Lee was returning home when he saw some of his own friends sitting near a stone bench in the courtyard.
As Mr Lee approached his friends, Mr Vijayan claimed that Mr Lee, a container-truck driver, knocked into the boy.
The boy fell and cried. MrVijayan was sitting about 20m away.
He said: 'The boy's mother was hysterical and was shouting at the man (Mr Lee). I ran to him and confronted him. I wanted to know why he didn't pick the boy up or at least see whether the child was all right.
'As a father, I would also be angry if somebody did that to my child.'
The New Paper asked to speak to the woman but Mr Vijayan declined to put us in touch with her.
Even with the boy crying, MrVijayan alleged that Mr Lee ignored the child and continued to talk to his friends.
This made Mr Vijayan angrier.
He claimed that he did not surprise Mr Lee.
'I didn't surprise him from behind. He knew I was approaching him.'
Mr Vijayan said both men traded Hokkien vulgarities.
Mr Lee had denied doing so.
Added Mr Vijayan: 'I didn't immediately punch him because we were busy cursing each other. Anyway, I had to be in front of him in order to punch him in the mouth.'
Soon, the situation got out of hand and Mr Vijayan admitted he 'released the first punch'.
After Mr Lee had recovered his balance, Mr Vijayan claimed Mr Lee retaliated by punching him in the mouth.
It was then that Mr Vijayan's brother, Mr Narayanan P, 34 rushed in and pulled him away from Mr Lee.
Meanwhile Mr Lee shouted to his friends to call the police.
Said Mr Narayanan: 'All this would not have happened if he (Mr Lee) had just said sorry to the child. One small matter and both men had to suffer.'
Mr Vijayan claimed he was also bleeding from his mouth, and that MrLee's teeth were intact after the punch.
Said Mr Vijayan: 'I only found out that he had lost four teeth when I read the newspapers two days later. I suffered, too. I was bleeding from a deep cut on my lower lip.
'Maybe I was lucky or maybe my teeth are stronger. But do I need to lose my teeth to be called a victim? You must remember, he also punched me.'
Mr Vijayan revealed a mark of about half a centimetre on his lower lip which was allegedly caused by Mr Lee's punch.
The 1.78m tall MrVijayan also showed a copy of a medical form which paramedics had issued to him.
He was advised to go to a hospital with it for an examination, but MrVijayan declined because he said his 'injuries were small'.
BLOOD STAINS
The form had two small stains, which he claimed were his blood.
Contrary to what Mr Lee had said, Mr Vijayan claimed he did not flee the scene.
Mr Vijayan added: 'There was no point in running. I knew that we both did wrong. Better to wait for the police to settle the matter.'
Both groups waited for the police to arrive.
By then, Mr Vijayan said more of MrLee's friends had arrived, too.
Mr Vijayan said: 'We felt uncomfortable when they started to taunt us. There were 10 to 15 of them - mostly young adults. We didn't want a fight because we would have been outnumbered. We just sat quietly.'
The police arrived soon and took statements.
Mr Vijayan was interviewed again at a police station a few days later.
Said Mr Vijayan: 'I'm prepared to go in (to jail). But it would have been unfair if I was the only one arrested that day. In the meantime, I'll just wait for the results of the police investigation.'
His wife said she is sad that her husband had been involved in the brawl.
Fearing that he may be charged, she said: 'A family is not complete if a father has to go to jail. But I will tell my daughters the real reason why their father is away.' |
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