I read this on the Majulah Singapura blog and am quite shocked because SIA did not take any action and Mr Wong is quite a respected businessman in Singapore.
As an iconic company of Singapore, regardless of whose fault, it’s unbelievable to me that SIA did not do anything about this case of air rage. From TODAY :
SINGAPORE: A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight attendant is taking the wife of one of Singapore’s richest men, Mr Wong Ngit Liong, to court for allegedly slapping her on a flight from Singapore to Tokyo last year.
Madam Tan Siew Hoon, the wife of Venture Corp chairman and chief executive Mr Wong, 65, is alleged to have struck Ms Then Jiamin on the cheek sometime during that flight on Sept 20, after she saw her speaking to Mr Wong.
The SIA flight attendant was serving passengers in business class, including the Wongs.
According to the writ of summons — which was served on Mdm Tan at her home last Monday evening — immediately after striking the stewardess, Mdm Tan had said loudly: “Why are you talking to my husband!”
Ms Then, 25, is suing for “general damages and damages for consequential loss and emotional and mental distress” she suffered as a result of the “wrongful assault and battery”. She is also claiming damages for defamation.
When contacted, an SIA spokesperson said that this was a personal matter and the airline did not wish to comment.
TODAY understands that after the flight touched down at Narita International Airport, the Wongs did not get on the subsequent connecting flight bound for Los Angeles.
Ms Then is also understood to have missed that flight. She stayed on in Tokyo to see a doctor and lodge a police report.
Upon returning to Singapore, she filed another police report. The flight attendant, who has been with SIA for two years, also took a few days off work to rest.
TODAY understands that Ms Then had approached her lawyers in October and decided to take the matter to court after her requests for compensation and a statement of apology were not acceded to.
Ms Then’s lawyers have until next Monday to file a statement of claims, which would include the sum she is seeking, with the subordinate courts. The defence would then have to submit their case within 14 days.
It is understood that Mdm Tan’s lawyers have responded to the writ. Mr Wong did not respond to TODAY’s queries by press time.
Comments by Majulah Singapura blog :
This may be a bit of an old news but the issue had never really been explored by ordinary singaporeans. In the last couple of decades, you have probably heard the term cosmopolitan vs heartlanders, the white horses, elites, etc. You have probably heard of income inequality between the rich and poor.
So this case aptly described, if the rich slaps a poor girl who is performing her job, is that a PRIVATE issue? This probably opens the floodgates for people who are unhappy with a stewardess work to slap them and then treat it as a private issue. Don’t tell me they would do a double standard and charge you for criminal assault and let one of the richest wife in Singapore go scot free as it is a private issue?
Mr Wong sits on one of Singapore Airlines subsidiaries. Does that mean as a boss’s wife, she could slap an employee? Where is justice? I believe you should forward this post to as many friends as possible and to pressure Singapore Airlines into taking action.
Anyways apologies this post is atypical of a highway of life blog entry unless of course we consider that air rage is something that happens along the highway of life? It’s just SIA’s inaction that really got to me and I was even contemplating putting this up on CNET Asia.
Highway of Life 