Corpun file 24835 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 15 October 2013, p.B8

Tiong Bahru Park bashing

6 get jail, caning for deadly attack

Victim died in hospital from multiple injuries following clash in park toilet

By Ian Poh

Click to enlarge

SIX men, including a pair of twins, were yesterday sentenced to at least five years in jail and four strokes of the cane for a brutal 2011 clash which eventually left their 52-year-old victim dead.

Twenty-year-olds Muhizin Khan and Suriya Thankamany, who had used glass bottles to hit the man's head and face, received stiffer six-year jail terms, with the latter also getting six strokes -- two more than everyone else.

Muhizin's twin brother Segu Jamaldeen Nafil Mohamed, 21-year-olds Anandraj Manimaran and S. Karthikesu, and Abdul Samad Mohamed Kasim, 25, got five years each.

The group had punched and kicked Mr Goh Ho Leong at Tiong Bahru Park 2½ years ago after a dispute in the public toilet there, and continued to do so even after he fell. Two days later, he died in hospital from multiple injuries including a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain.

Handing down the sentence in the High Court yesterday, Justice Choo Han Teck noted, without elaborating further, the different roles played by the six men in causing Mr Goh's death, and their respective records. Deputy public prosecutors Mohamed Faizal and Puspha S. had argued for jail terms of between seven and eight years plus six strokes of the cane for Muhizin and Suriya, and six to seven years in jail and six strokes for the others.

But defence lawyers Jeyapalan Ayaduray, Ramesh Tiwary, S.K. Kumar and Josephus Tan pleaded for leniency for their clients, highlighting the lack of premeditation and the provocative role the victim had played.

On the night of March 8, 2011, the six men and four others had met at the park to chat and drink.

After a group of men there became unhappy with their presence, Segu, Abdul Samad and one other member of their party accompanied three of them to the toilet to "resolve" the dispute.

It was there that they met Mr Goh, who argued with Segu after Segu pushed open the door of the cubicle he was in to check if they were alone.

The fight started after Mr Goh left and later returned with a friend and what looked like a bicycle chain.

The other four in their group -- including a girl who was 16 at the time -- were also charged over the matter. They are understood to have been given discharges not amounting to an acquittal.

The six men pleaded guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder on Sept 27.

Muhizin and Suriya could have been given life imprisonment or a jail term of up to 20 years, plus caning or a fine.

The other men faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, a fine and caning.

Corpun file 24861 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 29 October 2013, p.B8

Jealous ex-boyfriend gets jail, cane

He tracks down girl via online posts, severs her cousin's finger in attack

By Khushwant Singh

A BARTENDER tracked down his ex-girlfriend through pictures she posted on photo-sharing site Instagram and then slashed her male companion, severing one of his fingers completely.

The victim turned out to be her cousin. Yesterday, Muhammad Nurafiyan Mohamed Sani (photo), 20, was sentenced to three years in jail and six strokes of the cane.

He had pleaded guilty last week to causing grievous hurt to Muhammad Mifdah Rosli, 21.

The court heard that Ms Nurul Atikah Abdulla, 20, was at the Azzura Club in Sentosa on the evening of June 8. There, she took a picture of herself and uploaded it onto Instagram.

Muhammad Nurafiyan noticed that the picture was also tagged under Mr Muhammad Mifdah's name and became annoyed. He then identified the other man from one of her pictures.

Ms Nurul Atikah had planned to go to a chalet in Pasir Ris later and he called her and demanded that she give him the address. She refused and hung up on him.

In the early hours of June 9, Muhammad Nurafiyan found out that his friend Ahmad Taqlyyudin Rosli, 22, was also at the same chalet through pictures on Instagram, and he got the address from his friend.

Click to enlarge

Muhammad Nurafiyan and another friend Muhammad Faris Kamal took a taxi to the chalet. Both were armed with knives. The duo had asked Mr Ahmad Taqlyyudin to tell Mr Muhammad Mifdah that someone was coming over to give him something.

At the meeting in a nearby hall, they attacked Mr Muhammad Mifdah without warning.

The victim tried to explain that he was merely Ms Nurul Atikah's cousin, but to no avail.

His face and shoulder were slashed and the index finger of his right hand was completely cut off.

The attackers fled and Muhammad Nurafiyan threw the 40cm-long knife he had used into the Kallang River.

He then went into hiding. Doctors tried to reattach Mr Muhammad Mifdah's severed finger but it later developed gangrene and had to be amputated.

On June 21, Muhammad Nurafiyan was stopped by police at Bugis+ shopping mall. He managed to escape but officers found 0.61g of methamphetamine or Ice in the sling bag he left behind.

Yesterday, he was also sentenced to one year in jail for drug possession, which means he will serve a total of four years in prison. He could have been jailed for up to 15 years and caned up to 24 times for causing grievous hurt, and up to 10 years and fined up to $20,000 for possessing drugs.

Muhammad Faris, 23, who works as a mover, has been charged but has not been dealt with.