SINGAPORE: The sixth person linked to a fatal brawl at Orchard Towers admitted on Friday (Feb 5) to his involvement in the incident as well as two separate instances of fighting.
Tan Hong Sheng, 23, pleaded guilty to three charges of rioting, being a member of an unlawful assembly to assault a person and consorting with a person who had an offensive weapon.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe latter was co-accused Tan Sen Yang, who had a karambit knife and brandished it in public on the day of the incident on Jul 2, 2019, and faces a charge of murdering 31-year-old Satheesh Noel Gobidass.
Another five charges will be considered in sentencing for Hong Sheng.
The court heard that Hong Sheng had known Sen Yang for about a month at the time of the incident, through a mutual friend. They went drinking a few times and Hong Sheng saw Sen Yang behaving aggressively while wielding a black knife.
After this, he told their mutual friend that he no longer wanted to meet for drinks if Sen Yang was there.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, on Jul 2, 2019, the mutual friend invited Sen Yang for drinks while Hong Sheng was present, and the latter decided to continue drinking at the Naughty Girl Club in Orchard Towers.
At about 6.20am that day, Hong Sheng's group of friends was leaving the club when they got into a dispute with a second group of clubgoers.
Hong Sheng saw Sen Yang armed with the karambit knife, a small curved knife, and two people were injured by him. Hong Sheng did not attack anyone during this dispute and pulled Sen Yang away.
When Hong Sheng was leaving Orchard Towers at the ground floor exit, the victim Mr Satheesh walked down the escalator and confronted a member of Hong Sheng's group.
AdvertisementA fight broke out and Hong Sheng saw Sen Yang with the knife in his right hand when he went towards Mr Satheesh and began punching him, court documents said.
Hong Sheng did not join in the attack on Mr Satheesh and eventually pulled Sen Yang away. As Hong Sheng was leaving, he saw Mr Satheesh walk a few steps before collapsing at the entrance of Orchard Towers.
Scared, Hong Sheng fled and headed to Boon Lay Market and Food Centre with Sen Yang and others in the group. While there, Hong Sheng discussed with Sen Yang what had happened with Mr Satheesh.
During this discussion, Sen Yang told Hong Sheng and co-accused Loo Boon Chong not to worry as he would take responsibility.
SEVEN CHARGED OVER THE INCIDENT, MOST HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH
After Mr Satheesh's death, seven people including Hong Sheng were charged with murder. Apart from Sen Yang, the rest have had their charges reduced and sentenced, with the Attorney-General's Chambers later clarifying the reasons for this.
[h=3]READ: Evidence, intention and involvement: AGC, lawyers explain the decisions behind reducing murder charges[/h]Hong Sheng also pleaded guilty to his involvement in two other separate fighting incidents in November 2018 and April 2019.
The first incident occurred at Club V5 at Ming Arcade after a clubgoer bumped into Hong Sheng in the toilet, sparking a subsequent group fight. In the brawl, Hong Sheng used a glass Martell bottle to attack a man multiple times.
The second incident was at Club District 9, where a friend of Hong Sheng's wanted to teach another man a lesson for "stealing" his ex-girlfriend. Hong Sheng armed himself with a pair of ice tongs and joined three other men in attacking the victim, leaving him bleeding profusely and with multiple lacerations.
PROSECUTION CALLS FOR CANING, AT LEAST 60 MONTHS' JAIL
The prosecution called for at least 60 months’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane for Hong Sheng, saying that he had been convicted of rioting in 2011 and 2016 and had committed the Orchard Towers offence while out on police bail.
The rioting incident at Club District 9 was "vicious", with weapons and a degree of premeditation in looking for the victim, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Teong.
However, he acknowledged that Hong Sheng was not part of the assault in Orchard Towers and instead had pulled people back from the brawl.
Hong Sheng was defended by Invictus Law counsels Josephus Tan and Cory Wong, who had also represented co-accused Joel Tan Yuen Sheng and Chan Jia Xing. Joel received four weeks' jail in March last year for voluntarily causing hurt to Mr Satheesh by common intention, while Chan was given a conditional warning in October for a reduced charge of consorting with a person possessing an offensive weapon.
The lawyers asked for 45 to 50 months' jail and nine to 12 strokes of the cane for Hong Sheng, saying “he was calm, collected and had demonstrated both restraint and composure during the entire Naughty Girl Club incident”.
Mr Wong played clips of the incident in court and pointed out how Hong Sheng repeatedly pulled Sen Yang and co-accused Natalie Siow Yu Zhen away from the fracas.
The judge said he would adjourn the sentencing to a later date for deliberation.
Of the co-accused in the Orchard Towers case, Ang Da Yuan was sentenced in March last year to eight months' jail and six strokes of the cane for voluntarily causing hurt to the victim by kicking and punching him, and consorting with Sen Yang.
Siow, the sole woman in the case, was given five months' jail in October for voluntarily causing hurt with common intention and consorting with Sen Yang.
Loo Boon Chong was given five months' jail and fined S$1,000 last month for obstructing justice by throwing away Sen Yang's blood-stained shirt and gambling in public.
Sen Yang's case is pending in the high court.
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