Jail, caning for recalcitrant offender who was in fatal Orchard brawl
A recalcitrant offender, who was earlier ordered to undergo reformative training twice for rioting-related crimes, is back behind bars over a fatal brawl in Orchard Road that took place in August 2023.
On Dec 4, Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman, 31, was sentenced to two years and nine months’ jail, and ordered to receive 12 strokes of the cane.
Shahrulnizam had pleaded guilty in November to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, and one count of abetting his friend, Mr Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail, 29, to possess an offensive weapon.
Shahrulnizam had been detained in a centre over his earlier unrelated rioting offences to observe a strict regimen that commonly includes foot drills and counselling.
For the current case, the court heard that he was the one who had handed a small knife to Mr Isrrat shortly before the Orchard Road brawl, and this very weapon was later used to kill the latter.
Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, 30, was charged in August 2023 with Mr Isrrat’s murder, and his case is pending.
In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Brian Tan told the court that Shahrulnizam and Mr Isrrat were members of the same secret society.
At about 4.30am on Aug 20, 2023, Shahrulnizam and his girlfriend met Mr Isrrat for drinks at Club Rumours at Concorde Hotel in Orchard Road. Shahrulnizam had previously worked as a bouncer at the club.
Shortly before 4.50am, a group of rival secret society members arrived at the nightspot but were denied entry as they had been permanently banned from it after injuring the club’s owner in a 2019 fight.
Shahrulnizam saw the group and noticed the club’s bouncers discussing ways to deal with them. He then asked his former colleagues to pass him a bread knife, which he received along with a small knife.
Shahrulnizam tucked the bread knife into his pants and handed the small knife to Mr Isrrat.
As the club was closing at around 6am, Mr Isrrat suddenly started shouting abusive words at the rival group and a fight broke out.
Shahrulnizam and Mr Isrrat left the hotel while being chased by members of the rival secret society.
According to court documents, Sharvin Jay Nair, 25, and Visnu Suriamurthi, 28, then rained blows on Mr Isrrat.
Shahrulnizam used the bread knife to slash Sharvin’s elbow and Visnu’s neck, forehead and chest. The prosecutor said that he also slashed the hand of one Abdul Rahman Gani Abdul Azeez, 34.
Sharvin, then 25, was sentenced to a year and eight weeks’ jail, and a fine of $2,000 in June.
The cases involving Visnu and Abdul Rahman are also still pending.
Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam ran back to Concorde Hotel soon after. Mr Isrrat eventually fell down on an escalator outside the hotel, and the small knife dropped to the ground.
Asvain then allegedly retrieved the knife and stabbed Mr Isrrat multiple times with it.
The owner of Club Rumours called for an ambulance and Mr Isrrat was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Shahrulnizam surrendered himself to the police on Aug 21, 2023.
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