Tuan Foo Pao v Public Prosecutor: Appeal Against Conviction for Voluntarily Causing Hurt and Disorderly Behavior

Tuan Foo Pao appealed to the High Court of Singapore against his conviction in the District Court on charges of voluntarily causing hurt to his brother and disorderly behavior under the Miscellaneous Offences Act. The charges stemmed from an incident at the Family Court where Tuan Foo Pao head-butted his brother and shouted in the courthouse. The High Court, Choo Han Teck J, dismissed the appeal, upholding the original conviction and sentence, finding no basis to disturb the trial judge's findings of fact and agreeing that the appellant's conduct was disorderly.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeals against conviction and sentence were dismissed.

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Tuan Foo Pao appeals against his conviction for voluntarily causing hurt and disorderly behavior. The High Court dismisses the appeal, upholding the District Court's decision.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Public ProsecutorRespondentGovernment AgencyConviction UpheldWon
Leong Wing Tuck of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Tuan Foo Pao (alias Chong Fook Pao)AppellantIndividualAppeal DismissedLost

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Choo Han TeckJYes

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Leong Wing TuckAttorney-General’s Chambers

4. Facts

  1. The appellant head-butted his brother, PW2 Chong Fook Leng, at the Family Court.
  2. The appellant shouted in the corridor of the court.
  3. PW3 Chong Fook Tuang testified that he saw the appellant hit PW2 with his head.
  4. PW4 Foo See Chong Jacky, a security officer, corroborated the account of the head-butting.
  5. PW2 sought medical attention and was found to have tenderness due to contusion.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Tuan Foo Pao (alias Chong Fook Pao) v Public Prosecutor, Magistrate's Appeal No 2 of 2011 (MAC No 4068-4070 of 2010), [2012] SGHC 29

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Offences committed at the Family Court.
Magistrate's Appeal No 2 of 2011 filed.
High Court dismisses the appeal.

7. Legal Issues

  1. Voluntarily Causing Hurt
    • Outcome: The court upheld the conviction for voluntarily causing hurt.
    • Category: Substantive
  2. Disorderly Behaviour
    • Outcome: The court upheld the conviction for disorderly behaviour.
    • Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Appeal against conviction
  2. Appeal against sentence

9. Cause of Actions

  • Voluntarily Causing Hurt
  • Disorderly Behaviour

10. Practice Areas

  • Criminal Appeals

11. Industries

  • No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
No cited cases

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed) s 323Singapore
Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act (Cap 184, 1997 Rev Ed) s 20Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Voluntarily causing hurt
  • Disorderly behaviour
  • Head-butting
  • Family Court
  • CCTV footage
  • Corroborative testimony

15.2 Keywords

  • Criminal law
  • Voluntarily causing hurt
  • Disorderly behaviour
  • Singapore
  • High Court
  • Appeal

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Voluntarily Causing Hurt80
Criminal Law75
Disorderly Behaviour70
Criminal Procedure60
Family Law40
Personal Injury30

16. Subjects

  • Criminal Law
  • Public Order