SINGAPORE — Tensions that had been simmering between two shipmates for months boiled over one evening in February this year as the pair prepared dinner onboard a cargo vessel while it plied the waters off Singapore.

During the altercation, China national Bai Yutao, 51, provoked his compatriot Wang Wei, 56, the ship’s cook.

That prompted the older man to fracture Bai’s skull with a kitchen cleaver. Bai, who works as the ship’s oiler, survived the attack.

On Tuesday (May 11), Wang pleaded guilty to one charge of causing grievous hurt and was jailed for three months.

His sentence was backdated to Feb 13 this year, the date of his remand.

The court heard that the bad blood between the two men started sometime in December last year after an argument, which led to both men not speaking to each until Feb 12, the date of the fight.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Hidayat Amir said that they were preparing dinner at the galley that day as Panama-registered Guo Shun was off Semakau island.

Bai was washing the utensils when Wang threw an empty steel bowl into a sink beside the younger man.

This prompted Bai to ask Wang what his problem was before he started haranguing the cook with insults. Wang kept quiet, while another crew member tried to calm Bai down.

Eventually, Wang and Bai got into an argument, which continued until they were both at the entrance of the ship’s mess.

By this time, Wang was holding a kitchen cleaver with a 20cm-long blade when Bai poked him on a spot close to his left eyebrow.

The sharp pain that Wang felt caused him to react by slashing Bai’s left forehead with the cleaver, DPP Hidayat said.

Bai responded by punching Wang several times, before the two men were separated by the rest of the crew. Bai, who was bleeding profusely, began to feel giddy and a crew member bandaged his wounds before medical assistance was sought.

Bai was taken to the emergency department of the National University Hospital on the same evening.

A medical report found that he had sustained a left parietal skull fracture and he had to undergo surgery the next day.

Wang sustained several bruises on his face.

DPP Hidayat said that no legal action was taken against Bai, who has since left Singapore.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Wang could have been jailed for up to six years or fined up to S$10,000, or both.