Chinese national woman allegedly abusing hospital nurse to face additional charges for employment law violation

SINGAPORE: A 29-year-old Chinese national woman, who reportedly verbally abused nurses and police officers at a hospital, is anticipated to face two additional charges on Tuesday morning (October 24th) for contravening the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

During the court appearance on October 13th, the defendant, Han Feizi, via a video link, expressed her intention to plead guilty, stating, “I plead guilty, I apologize,” to the judge.

She had previously been charged with six counts, which include:

• One count of being a public nuisance, which carries a fine of up to S$2,000.
• Two counts of using abusive language against a public service worker or public servant, punishable with a jail term of up to 12 months or a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
• Two counts of assaulting or using criminal force on a security officer, with a potential jail term of up to two years or a fine of up to S$7,500, or both.
• Intentionally causing harassment, which can result in a jail term of up to 12 months or a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.

Following the initial hearing on October 13th, the defendant was granted bail by the judge, although it is understood that she remained in custody due to her inability to secure a guarantor for her release.

The case is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday morning, where the defendant is expected to face two additional charges, specifically for violating Section 10(1) and Section 22(1)(d) of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

According to Section 10(1) of the Act, if convicted, a foreigner working without a valid work permit can be fined up to S$20,000, or imprisoned for up to two years, or both.

Under Section 22(1)(d) of the Act, providing false or misleading information or statements when applying for or renewing a work permit can result in a fine of up to S$20,000, imprisonment for up to two years, or both.

The judge postponed the case until Wednesday to allow the defendant to enter a plea.

Viral video shows altercation between the Chinese woman and police officer over hospital incident

In the early hours of October 10th, the defendant claimed she sustained a foot injury in a car accident.

She engaged in a confrontation with a nurse at Singapore General Hospital, reportedly using abusive language and refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

The woman in question uploaded videos of her interactions with the investigating officers on the widely used short video platform TikTok, sparking widespread discussions and reactions.

In the video recordings, the woman claimed that she had been waiting for three hours at the hospital due to her involvement in a car accident. She further alleged that a nurse informed her she couldn’t receive medical treatment at the hospital because she wasn’t a Singaporean citizen.

When the police officers sought to record her statement regarding the use of inappropriate language towards one of the hospital’s nurses, the woman refused to provide a clear response.

Instead, she insisted that the police officer should question the nurse and persisted in her request to be taken to the police station while demanding that the female Investigation Officer (IO) reveal her identity.

At one juncture, she even attempted to seize the officer’s identification card while continuing to document the incident, which led to a stern warning from the officer.

In a follow-up post on Tuesday evening, the woman disclosed that she is a long-term pass holder, and mentioned that she had undergone an X-ray examination and was provided with some medication.

The woman claimed that the driver who hit me fled the scene, unwilling to face the issue or take responsibility.

She emphasized her insistence on having the officers identify themselves because she wanted to prevent the driver from providing “unfavourable evidence” that might diminish the impact of the car accident on the driver.

Authorities intervened in early morning disturbance at SGH involving the woman

On 12 Oct, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) responded to media inquiries by issuing a statement.

The statement outlined that they had received a report at approximately 2:35 am on Tuesday, involving a 29-year-old Chinese national woman seeking medical attention for an injured foot.

It was reported that she was causing a disturbance and inconvenience to the public due to its loud nature. Additionally, she was accused of verbally abusing a nurse before the arrival of the police.

Around 3:15 a.m., two investigating officers (IO) arrived at the scene and initiated a conversation with the woman.

The police stated that the two IO identified themselves as hailing from the Central Police Division and were accompanied by uniformed police officers.

During the course of their conversation, the woman declined to provide a statement, and at one point, she used strong language in Mandarin directed at one of the IO.

“While recording, she attempted to take one of the investigation officers’ security pass. The investigation officer firmly told her not to touch her pass,” the statement added.

Given that the woman was awaiting medical treatment, the officers decided to allow her to complete her treatment first, with plans to follow up later.

Possible Work Permit violation

The police noted that this wasn’t the first time they had dealt with a case involving the woman.

Earlier on Oct 3, they received a call for help from the security team of a condominium located along Marina Boulevard.

“The woman was allegedly intoxicated, and the security team assisted in escorting her up to her unit. ”

“The woman then allegedly pushed one of the security officers on his shoulder and pulled his tie. She also purportedly used insulting and abusive words towards the security officer,” the police said.

Despite her compliance upon the police’s arrival, they initiated an investigation into the alleged offences committed against the security officer.

During the investigation, the police found reason to suspect that the woman may have violated the conditions of her work permit and referred this matter to the Ministry of Manpower.