THE wife of a tycoon, who is charged with slapping a Singapore Airlines (SIA) stewardess, tried to settle the case out of court but this was turned down by the prosecution.

The lawyer for Tan Siew Hoon, 61, said this when she made a brief appearance in a District Court on Thursday.

Mr Ravinderpal Singh told Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan that he had written again to the prosecution to consider his 'representations', which are normally pleas to have charges withdrawn or reduced. He asked for the case to be adjourned to await a reply.

Tan is accused of voluntarily causing hurt to Ms Then Jiamin, 25, on board an SIA flight to Tokyo, on Sept 20 last year. She and her husband, Mr Wong Ngit Liong, 65, who is the chairman and CEO of Venture Corp, one of Singapore's biggest manufacturing firms, were in the business class cabin at the time.

If convicted, Tan can be jailed a year and fined $1,000.

Cases of voluntarily causing hurt can be settled out of court if the victim, prosecution and judge agree.

When her name was called, Tan walked up and stood next to the dock. She wore a plum V-necked shift dress that hugged her figure. Her husband sat in the public gallery.

The couple arrived at the Subordinate Courts in Havelock Square in a BMW and they walked hand-in-in into the court room. Tan recently settled a civil claim for unspecified damages for 'emotional and mental distress' filed by Ms Then.