SINGAPORE — Unhappy with a food delivery rider over a misunderstanding, Sim Wei Jie took a small kitchen knife from his home to attack the rider, who suffered a 5cm-deep cut on his right forearm.

Sim, 38, was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Monday (Oct 16) after pleading guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt.

On top of that, he received another penalty of 72 days’ jail because he had committed the offence while under a remission order from prison.

The court heard that Sim was working as a food delivery rider himself when he encountered the victim, Mr Lim Yee Seng, 37, also a food delivery rider.

Investigations revealed that on the evening of Jan 2 this year, Mr Lim was riding around the Ang Mo Kio area doing deliveries when he noticed Sim on his electric bicycle.

Mr Lim thought that Sim was following him, though court documents did not say why Mr Lim thought so.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jason Chua said that when Mr Lim stopped at the Ang Mo Kio Hub taxi stand, he approached Sim to ask why he was following him.

Sim denied doing so and told Mr Lim that they could speak “one-on-one” if he was unhappy with him.

The two then walked to Block 322 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 nearby where Mr Lim told Sim that he had misunderstood Sim to be following him. 

Mr Lim then left to pick up another food delivery while Sim returned home to take a small kitchen knife that he then hid in his sling bag as he went in search of Mr Lim.

A short while later, after collecting a food order, Mr Lim saw Sim waiting by his electric bicycle parked nearby. 

The two headed to Block 322 again where Sim asked Mr Lim to apologise.

Sim had chosen to return to the sheltered area at Block 322 with Mr Lim because he knew that there were no closed-circuit television cameras at that location, DPP Chua said.

When Mr Lim refused to apologise, Sim swung his knife at Mr Lim twice.

Even though Sim’s knife missed Mr Lim the first time, it cut his right forearm on Sim’s second attempt.

Sim then escaped from the scene but returned about 10 minutes later to warn Mr Lim not to call the police.

After Sim left the second time, Mr Lim called for an ambulance and was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Mr Lim later underwent surgery and was given 14 days of hospitalisation leave upon discharge.

The knife used to attack him was not recovered by the police because Sim had admitted to throwing it into a pond at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

In seeking seven to eight months’ jail with an extra penalty of 72 days’ jail, the prosecution said that Sim had displayed a high level of meditation as he was unhappy with the victim and went back home to arm himself with a knife.

DPP Chua did not say what Sim was in jail for previously, but he did tell the court that it was for an offence of a different nature.

He added that the harm that the knife could cause was significant and Sim would have potentially caused more injuries if he had used it on a vulnerable part of the victim’s body.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Sim could have been jailed up to seven years, fined, or caned, or received any combination of these punishments.