Father-son pair jailed after they flew to Singapore and assaulted businessman over deal turned sour

Gao Zhenhan and his father liked the idea. They sold their family car and took bank loans to invest at least $18,000 in the business.

But some time later, the victim told the Chinese nationals that he could not secure work permits for them.

He also failed to return them the money.

The father and son pair travelled to Singapore on Oct 14 to confront the victim. They dropped by his shop but could not locate him, and spent the night sleeping rough nearby.

The next day, they travelled to VivoCity by train and spotted the victim at a foodcourt in the basement of the mall.

They approached the victim, who left the stall for his car parked nearby. Gao Yong ran after the victim, swung his hand at the victim’s head and then pushed him into the car.

His son pushed the victim against a car seat to prevent him from running away.

The pair confronted the Malaysian about the investment and punched him several times, demanding that the victim pay them 200,000 yuan (S$38,319, according to court documents).

But the victim refused, saying he would give them $5,000 instead. The father rejected the sum and the victim offered $10,000, which the older man also rejected.

Two security officers approached the car to check what was happening, and the police were alerted.

The father and son pair were arrested soon after. The prosecutor said that Wong had superficial injuries on his face, neck and shoulders as a result of the assault.

For assault, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to $5,000, or both.