Australian Aaron Peter Jeremicjczyk, a 39-year-old Singapore permanent resident, has been fined S$3,000 for assaulting jazz singer Dawn Ho last year.
The incident happened at the Beach Station on Sentosa island at about 9.20pm on 9 March 2014.
35-year-old Ms Ho had seen Jeremicjczyk, his girlfriend and a friend arguing with a limousine driver about the price of a fare and told him to stop shouting, the court heard.
Ms Ho and her friend tried to calm Mr Jeremicjczyk down but as they were about to drive off, the latter approached the open passenger door window of their vehicle and punched Ms Ho on the nose, causing redness and swelling, the Straits Times reported.
Ms Ho later posted a photo of herself with bruises on social media and her story went viral.
Mr Jeremicjczyk later quit his job in the marketing department of The Exchange, an Australian-themed bar and eatery in Asia Square.
He was later reported to have found another job in the food and beverage industry.
Mr Jeremicjczyk’s lawyer argued in mitigation that Ms Ho had made “provocative, insulting and racist comments” about his client which had triggered the incident. However, Mr Jeremicjczyk makes no excuse for his actions, his lawyer said.
Mr Jeremicjczyk’s lawyer also said the incident, having been highlighted on social media had “tarnished [his client’s] image due to the comments made by the victim on various blog sites”.
His lawyer also said that Mr Jeremicjczyk had wanted to meet Ms Ho to apologise and compensate her but nothing came out of it despite discussions with her lawyers, according to the Straits Times.
For the offence of voluntary causing hurt, he could have been jailed up to two years and fined a maximum of $5,000.
