Father Cary Chan, Church of the Holy Spirit parish assistant priest, said the 22-year old man who punched him in the head on February 9 has special needs.
In a report by CNA on the same day, Chan said the man is a regular churchgoer and has visual difficulties.
“He likely did not recognise who he punched,” he said. “I know him very well. I think he didn’t recognise me. He can’t exactly see who you are.”
According to the priest, he felt “a little shaken” with the punch.
The assault took place after the Mass and the man started yelling inside the church, Chan said.
Someone took out the man’s bag from the church, causing him to get mad and demanded his back returned to him, the priest recounted.
“I had to go in and intervene and ask him to follow me out of the church,” he said.
The bag was returned to the man.
Chan presided over another Mass after the incident. An altar server and the churchgoers did not see the priest affected by the assault.
In a statement posted on social media, the police informed the public that the man was arrested and referred to a mental health institution for assessment.
In November last year, another priest survived an assault at St. Joseph's Church in Upper Bukit Timah.
Fathe Christopher Lee was stabbed in the mouth during a service.
The attack left the priest with an eight-centimeter cut on his tongue, a three-centimeter wound on his upper lip, and a four-centimeter cut on the corner of his mouth.
The 37-year-old attacker was arrested by the police and referred to a mental health institution for assessment.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
