SINGAPORE – Five men linked to a 2023 fatal brawl around Concorde Hotel were sentenced to jail and caning on Feb 25 after they rained blows on a former bouncer who was allegedly killed later by another member of their group.
Three of the men – Sridharan Elangovan, 30, Manojkumar Velayanatham, 32, and Sashikumar Pakirsamy, 34 – were repeat offenders.
The trio were also members of the same secret society at the time of the attack on Mr Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail, 29, which took place on the morning of Aug 20, 2023.
Sridharan, who was fined $4,500 in 2022 for voluntarily causing hurt, was sentenced to three years’ jail and six strokes of the cane on Feb 25.
Manojkumar was sentenced to 2½ years’ jail and four strokes of the cane. He was fined $3,000 in 2019 for assault.
Sashikumar, who was fined $3,000 in 2014 for using threatening words on a public servant, was sentenced to two years’ jail and two strokes of the cane for his latest offence.
In sentencing the trio, District Judge Eddy Tham said the fact they were secret society members at the time of the 2023 riot was not taken into consideration.
The judge added that their offences were not initiated by a gang leader and noted that it was Mr Isrrat’s group that had decided to arm themselves that morning.
However, Judge Tham stressed that an act of rioting with violence is taken very seriously, noting that Mr Isrrat was set upon by a large group of people and he was killed following an “opportunistic use” of a knife.
A fourth rioter, Raja Rishi, 28, was sentenced to 2½ years’ jail and four strokes of the cane on Feb 25 while a fifth offender, Puthenvilla Keith Peter, 26, was sentenced to two years and two months’ jail and three strokes of the cane.
On Feb 13, all five Singaporeans pleaded guilty to one count each of rioting.
A sixth man, Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, 30, was earlier handed a murder charge after he allegedly killed Mr Isrrat. His case is pending.
In earlier proceedings, deputy public prosecutors Kathy Chu and Brian Tan told the court that the six men and other members of the rioting group went to Club Rumours in Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall in Orchard Road in the wee hours of Aug 20, 2023.
Around 4.45am, two of the club’s former bouncers – Mr Isrrat and Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman – arrived there as Mr Isrrat wanted to pass his wedding invitation cards to its employees.
The prosecutors said both men were members of another secret society.
The club’s chief bouncer then noticed that men from the rioting group, which included members of another gang, were in the vicinity.
He alerted his colleagues, and several men, including Shahrulnizam and Mr Isrrat, armed themselves with knives.
Club Rumours closed around 6am, prompting patrons to leave and head to an exit towards Kramat Lane.
Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam yelled vulgarities at the men in the rioting group. Members of the group then confronted the pair.
A scuffle broke out and Shahrulnizam used a knife to slash three men. He and Mr Isrrat then ran off, pursued by the rioting group.
The prosecutors told the court that Mr Isrrat spotted a friend of the rioting group and stabbed the man on the forehead before fleeing. Meanwhile, Shahrulnizam, who was ahead of Mr Isrrat, headed to a corridor outside Club Rumours and handed the knife to one of its bouncers.
When Shahrulnizam turned back, he saw the rioting group running after Mr Isrrat.
Manojkumar, Sridharan, Sashikumar, Puthenvilla and Raja surrounded Mr Isrrat and rained blows on him.
Mr Isrrat ran away but Manojkumar, Puthenvilla and Raja caught up with him and kicked him.
Mr Isrrat managed to get away again and the group chased him. His knife fell to the ground when one of its members pushed him.
Five men, including Raja, Manojkumar and Sridharan, then kicked Mr Isrrat.
The prosecutors said: “Asvain picked up the small knife (Mr Isrrat) had dropped and stabbed (him) with it multiple times.”
After that, Sridharan landed one more kick on Mr Isrrat, who was bleeding profusely.
The group left the vicinity and the staff of Club Rumours called for an ambulance. Mr Isrrat was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 7am.
In December 2024, Shahrulnizam, then 31, was sentenced to two years and nine months’ jail, and ordered to receive 12 strokes of the cane.
He had pleaded guilty to offences including two counts of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.
- Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
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