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SINGAPORE – The Attorney General’s Office (AGC) has asked police to investigate social media users who alleged that the people charged with the Orchard Towers murder received preferential treatment at sentencing because of their race.
In a statement on Friday (October 16), the AGC refuted claims that courts impose sentences based on the race of offenders and said it will not hesitate to take action against those who make such false and unsubstantiated accusations.
It is also not true that members of minority races receive harsher sentences, the statement added.
Such accusations, the AGC said, have the “potential to upset racial harmony in Singapore and cause irreversible divisions in our communities.”
The AGC added that it has asked the police to investigate those responsible for alleging in various social media posts that those accused of being involved in the death of Mr. Satheesh Noel Gobidass last year received preferential treatment.
He added that the comments could also violate contempt of court law.
On July 2 of last year, Satheesh, 31, died after being involved in a fight at Orchard Towers.
Seven people were involved in the incident.
After thorough investigations, the AGC found that six of them were not involved in the cause of Mr. Satheesh’s death, leading to the charges against them being dropped.
The seventh person, Tan Sen Yang, is the only one now facing a murder charge.
In the statement, the AGC said: “At no time did the police and AGC consider the race of the deceased and the seven people in their decision.
On Thursday, one of the defendants, Mr. Chan Jia Xing, 27, received a 12-month conditional warning after facing a misdemeanor charge of fraternizing with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place.
The AGC said the crime he was charged with took into account Chan’s involvement, how he tried to stop the attack and his cooperation with police investigations. You could go back to court if you repeat offenders within 12 months.
A conditional warning does not amount to a conviction or a guilty plea, and it does not leave a criminal record, meaning that Chan will not face further action if he does not commit a crime for a year.
Earlier this year, Joel Tan Yun Sheng, 26, Ang Da Yuan, 26, and Natalie Siow Yu Zhen, 24, pleaded guilty to assault charges, among other things.
Tan was sentenced to one month in prison, while Ang was sentenced to eight months in prison and six strokes of the baton.
Siow received five months in jail last Friday, in addition to the three and a half months he had previously spent in pretrial detention.
The AGC said that the sentences imposed were in line with guidelines issued by the courts.
Three of the defendants, Tan Sen Yang, 28, Tan Hong Sheng, 23, and Loo Boon Chong, 26, have yet to be sentenced.
The seven involved in the case had gone as a group to the Naughty Girl Club on the second floor of Orchard Towers in the early morning of July 2 of last year. They were about to leave around 6:20 am when they ran into another group and a dispute broke out.
Mr. Satheesh was killed after confronting one of the men who, together with the man’s friends, attacked him.
The fight was captured on camera outside a store on the first floor of Orchard Towers. CCTV footage showed Mr. Satheesh exchanging blows with some people before falling to the ground.
He seemed to be bleeding from his neck as passersby tried to help him.
Mr. Satheesh was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and died at 7.25am. M.
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