Singaporean man charged for stabbing priest in mouth

Singapore, Nov 11 (PTI) A 37-year-old Singaporean man was charged in court on Monday for allegedly causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon after stabbing a priest in the mouth during a children’s mass in a church.

The stabbing incident took place on Saturday last week at St Joseph's Church in Upper Bukit Timah area, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

According to court documents, Basnayake Keith Spencer, a Singaporean Sinhalese, stabbed Reverend Christopher Lee while the 57-year-old was celebrating evening mass. Spencer approached the priest when he was distributing communion.

Basnayake allegedly used a foldable knife in the attack which endangered Lee’s life. As per the court documents, Lee was stabbed in the mouth. It left him with an 8 cm laceration on his tongue, a 3cm cut on his upper left lip and a 4cm cut on the corner of his mouth.

Spencer was handed one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by a dangerous weapon to Lee.

He was unrepresented and appeared in court via video link from his place of remand, wearing a white polo shirt with his hands in cuffs.

The police prosecutor applied for Spencer to be remanded for three weeks for psychiatric assessment. The judge granted the application and fixed Dec 2 as the next date for the hearing.

If convicted, Spencer may face life imprisonment or be jailed for up to 15 years. He may also be liable to caning and/or a fine. PTI GS SCY SCY