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SINGAPORE: The sixth person linked to a fatal fight at Orchard Towers admitted on Friday (February 5) his involvement in the incident, as well as two separate cases of fights.
23-year-old Tan Hong Sheng pleaded guilty to three counts of riot, being a member of an unlawful assembly to assault a person, and associating with a person who had an offensive weapon.
The latter was co-defendant Tan Sen Yang, who had a karambit knife and brandished it in public on the day of the incident on July 2, 2019, and faces a charge of murdering Satheesh Noel Gobidass, 31.
Five other charges will be considered in Hong Sheng’s sentencing.
The court heard that Hong Sheng knew Sen Yang for about a month at the time of the incident, through a mutual friend. They went to drink a few times and Hong Sheng saw Sen Yang behaving aggressively while wielding a black knife.
After this, he told his mutual friend that he no longer wanted to meet for a drink if Sen Yang was there.
However, on July 2, 2019, the mutual friend invited Sen Yang for a drink while Hong Sheng was present, and the latter decided to continue drinking at the Naughty Girl Club in Orchard Towers.
At approximately 6:20 a.m. that day, Hong Sheng’s group of friends were leaving the club when they had a dispute with a second group of club goers.
Hong Sheng saw Sen Yang armed with the karambit knife, a small curved knife, and two people were injured by it. Hong Sheng did not attack anyone during this dispute and took Sen Yang away.
As Hong Sheng was leaving Orchard Towers via the ground floor exit, the victim, Mr. Satheesh, descended the escalator and confronted a member of Hong Sheng’s group.
A fight broke out and Hong Sheng saw Sen Yang with the knife in his right hand as he walked towards Satheesh and began to beat him, according to court documents.
Hong Sheng did not join the attack on Satheesh and eventually took Sen Yang away. As Hong Sheng was leaving, he saw Mr. Satheesh walk a few steps before collapsing at the entrance to Orchard Towers.
Scared, Hong Sheng fled and headed to the Boon Lay Market and Food Center with Sen Yang and other members of the group. While there, Hong Sheng discussed with Sen Yang what had happened to Satheesh.
During this discussion, Sen Yang told Hong Sheng and co-accused Loo Boon Chong not to worry because he would take responsibility.
SEVEN CHARGED BY THE INCIDENT, MOST HAVE BEEN TREATED
After Satheesh’s death, seven people, including Hong Sheng, were charged with murder. Apart from Sen Yang, the rest had their charges reduced and convicted, and the reasons for this were later clarified by the Attorney General’s Office.
READ: Evidence, Intent and Participation: AGC, Lawyers Explain Decisions Behind Murder Charge Reduction
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 the V5 Club in Ming Arcade after a club attendant collided with Hong Sheng in the bathroom, sparking a subsequent group fight. In the fight, Hong Sheng used a Martell glass bottle to attack a man multiple times.
The second incident was in Club District 9, where a friend of Hong Sheng wanted to teach another man a lesson for “stealing” his ex-girlfriend. Hong Sheng armed himself with a pair of ice pliers and joined three other men to attack the victim, leaving her bleeding profusely and with multiple lacerations.
THE AUDIT CALLS FOR CANING, AT LEAST 60 MONTHS IN JAIL
The prosecution requested at least 60 months in jail and 12 baton strokes for Hong Sheng, saying that he had been convicted of riots in 2011 and 2016 and had committed the Orchard Towers crime while on bail.
The incident of the riot in District 9 of the Club was “cruel”, with weapons and some degree of premeditation in the search for the victim, said Assistant District Attorney Benedict Teong.
However, he acknowledged that Hong Sheng was not part of the assault on Orchard Towers and had instead drawn people out of the fight.
Hong Sheng was defended by Invictus Law attorneys Josephus Tan and Cory Wong, who had also represented co-defendants Joel Tan Yuen Sheng and Chan Jia Xing. Joel received four weeks in jail in March last year for willfully causing harm to Mr. Satheesh by common intent, while Chan received a conditional warning in October for a reduced charge of associating with a person who possessed an offensive weapon.
The lawyers asked for 45 to 50 months in jail and nine to 12 strokes of the baton for Hong Sheng, saying that “he was calm, collected and had shown both restraint and composure throughout the Naughty Girl Club incident.”
Mr. Wong showed clips of the incident in court and noted how Hong Sheng repeatedly took Sen Yang out and co-accused Natalie Siow Yu Zhen of the fight.
The judge said he would postpone the sentence to a later date for deliberation.
Of the co-defendants in the Orchard Towers case, Ang Da Yuan was sentenced in March last year to eight months in jail and six strokes of the baton for willfully causing harm to the victim by kicking and punching him and partnering with Sen Yang. .
Siow, the only woman in the case, was sentenced to five months in jail in October for willfully causing harm with a common intent and associating with Sen Yang.
Loo Boon Chong received five months in jail and a fine of S $ 1,000 last month for obstructing justice by throwing away Sen Yang’s bloodstained shirt and gambling in public.
Sen Yang’s case is pending in the higher court.
