Jail for 3 men who attacked strangers at Prinsep Street
Three men who attacked two strangers in an unprovoked assault in Prinsep Street in April 2024 were sentenced to jail on Jan 13.
Shahrul Danish Zainal Abidin, 24, and Shamirul Azwat Sainal, 21, were each sentenced to six weeks’ jail after both men pleaded guilty to one charge each of voluntarily causing hurt.
Shamirul’s brother, Muhammad Fatula Sainal, 23, admitted to voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon and was handed a 24-week jail term.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Clara Low said that on April 25, 2024, Fatula, Shamirul and Shahrul left a bar at Prinsep Street at around midnight after drinking alcohol there.
While near a sheltered walkway, Shamirul approached the first victim, identified in court documents as V1, after he saw him with another stranger who was vomiting on the ground.
Shamirul asked V1 if the man was okay, and the pair soon started chatting about motorcycles.
Fatula then approached the two men while they were talking as he was worried about tensions rising between them. It was not mentioned in court documents how the conversation became heated.
Suddenly, Fatula pushed V1 and punched him once on his body. A fight ensued and Shamirul punched V1’s face. Shahrul, who was standing nearby, walked towards V1 and also threw punches at him.
Fatula then used a karambit knife, which he had brought with him to the bar for protection, to slash V1 once on his upper lip.
DPP Low said that as a result of the assault, V1 fell to the ground, and Shamirul kicked him multiple times on his body while he lay there.
The assault attracted the attention of several people. One bystander, identified in court as V2, tried to calm the men down.
While V2 was attempting to stop the assault, Fatula slashed V2 once on his left shoulder using the same karambit knife. It was not mentioned in court documents how the incident ended.
Both victims were taken to hospital and V2 was found to have sustained a laceration over his left shoulder while V1 suffered a head injury, a cut to his lip and abrasions on his face.
DPP Low said Fatula, Shamirul and Shahrul were intoxicated at the time of the assault. They were arrested one day later, on April 26, 2024.
Seeking a jail term of between 24 and 26 weeks’ jail for Fatula, DPP Low said: “The weapon was clearly dangerous, and disclosed a potential for high harm.”
The prosecutor called for six to eight weeks’ jail each for Shamirul and Shahrul, arguing that both men committed the offence unprovoked, on a victim who was unarmed.
For voluntarily causing hurt, an offender can be jailed for three years, fined up to $5,000, or both.
Those convicted of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned or given any combination of such punishments.
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