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Shaffiq Alkhatib
The times of the strait
October 9, 2020
The only woman linked to last year’s Orchard Towers murder was sentenced Friday (October 9) to five months in jail.
Natalie Siow Yu Zhen was the third person linked to the case that was heard in court.
The 24-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to assault and to being in the company of one Tan Sen Yang, 28, who had a Kerambit knife in his possession at the mall that day.
The weapon is a curved blade that resembles a claw.
During sentencing, a charge of disorderly behavior in public was considered.
Two men linked to the incident, office manager Joel Tan Yun Sheng and hotel receptionist Ang Da Yuan, both 26, were tried in March.
Ang, who pleaded guilty to similar charges, was sentenced to eight months in jail and six strokes of the baton. Joel Tan admitted to a single assault charge and was sentenced to four weeks in jail.
These four, along with three other men, Tan Hong Sheng, Loo Boon Chong and Chan Jia Xing, were charged with the murder of Satheesh Noel Gobidass last year. The murder charges of Joel Tan, Ang and Siow were later reduced to assault charges.
Tan Hong Sheng, 23, Loo, 26, and Chan, 27, had their charges reduced to associating with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.
Tan Sen Yang is the only one still facing a murder charge. The cases involving him, Loo, Chan and Tan Hong Sheng are still pending.
Siow and her group had gone to the Naughty Girl Club on the second floor of Orchard Towers in the early hours of July 2 of last year.
While there, he played a game with Tan Sen Yang, who lost two rounds and had to drink alcoholic beverages.
Siow jokingly said he was not a good drinker and responded by pulling out a kerambit knife and slamming it against a table.
Joel Tan then asked him to put the gun away and not show it. Joel Tan also warned Siow not to offend Tan Sen Yang.
His group was about to leave the club around 6:20 a.m. when they encountered another group entering.
Deputy Prosecutors Ang Feng Qian, Dora Tay and Benedict Teong testified in court documents: “Therefore, there was some congestion at the gate. When Joel went out with the rest of his group, he heard an exchange of laconic and vulgar words between (Tan Sen Yang) and people from the other group. Slogans of the secret society were exchanged between the group of accused and the other group ”.
The club’s security officers, including 41-year-old Mr. B. Barathkrishnan, stepped in to intervene.
Other people, including Satheesh, 31, and a man identified as Muhammad Fairus Muhammad Ali, 30, also began gathering near the entrance.
The court heard that Tan Sen Yang then pulled out his kerambit knife and turned it, cutting off Mr. Barathkrishnan’s finger and Mr. Fairus’s face.
Prosecutors said: “Meanwhile, Natalie saw the fight and felt the need to join. Natalie ran to the people at the door and jumped on the people.
“He also knocked down a table located near the entrance of the club. She had to be repeatedly removed by people from the group of defendants. “
After a few fights, someone yelled “police” and Siow’s group took an elevator to the ground floor.
Satheesh also went down an escalator and confronted Ang. A fight broke out between the two men. The court heard that Joel Tan, Tan Sen Yang and Siow joined the fray.
Prosecutors said: “(Tan Sen Yang) swung the blade of his kerambit knife on the victim’s lower jaw and neck region in a punching motion with his right hand and cut him several times. Right after that, there was a lot of blood on the victim’s face. “
The attackers and their group left the mall shortly after. Mr. Satheesh collapsed face down on the ground and was pronounced dead at Tan Tock Seng Hospital around 7:30 a.m. M.
Defense attorney Amarick Gill, who represented Siow, told the court Friday that his client had learned his lesson.
The lawyer added that she had previously faced a capital charge and the experience had been “extremely heartbreaking” for her. The court heard that Siow also deeply regrets the death of Mr. Satheesh.
Criminals convicted of battery can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $ 5,000.
