Woman’s Hari Raya invite was lure for revenge attack

A woman who wanted to take revenge on two siblings involved in an attack on her younger brother plotted to lay an ambush for them.

As it was Hari Raya Aidilfitri, she invited them to her home near Jalan Bukit Merah on the pretext of having a celebration.

When the siblings showed up, she locked them in the flat before she assaulted them by pouring hot water on them and repeatedly beating them with a bamboo stick.

Yesterday, Norhayati Jaffar, 37, the mastermind behind the vicious assault, was jailed for five years and four months for voluntarily causing hurt to Mr Muhammad Faizal Omar, now 29, with a heated substance as well as three drug offences.

On July 7, 2018, Norhayati was having an open house for Hari Raya when a friend showed her a clip of her younger brother, Mr Muhammad Putera Shafiellah Jaffar, being assaulted by Mr Faizal and his relatives.

The video, which had been widely shared on Facebook, also shows Mr Faizal's sister, Ms Nur Farahtika Omar, now 27, watching the attack.

Incensed by what she saw, Norhayati hatched a plan to take revenge by inviting Mr Faizal and Ms Farahtika to her flat.

She enlisted another brother, Muhammad Bakhtiyar Jaffar, now 35, and her friend, Nurhanifah Juma'at, now 28, as her accomplices.

While waiting for the siblings to arrive, Norhayati instructed Nurhanifah to boil a kettle of water.

When the siblings arrived with two friends a few hours later at 12.30am on July 8 and entered the flat, Norhayati locked the gate behind them.

Norhayati and Bakhtiyar then began assaulting Mr Faizal and Ms Farahtika while Nurhanifah filmed the incident.

The court heard that Norhayati grabbed a jug of recently boiled water from the kitchen, and poured it on Ms Farahtika's neck, back and right ear before hitting her on the neck with the jug.

When Ms Farahtika fell, Norhayati repeatedly hit her with a bamboo stick while Bakhtiyar pummelled and kicked Mr Faizal, who was curled up in a foetal position on the floor.

After Ms Farahtika managed to escape from the flat, Norhayati turned her attention to Mr Faizal by repeatedly hitting him with the bamboo stick while her brother continued punching Mr Faizal's head.

As he pleaded for them to stop, Bakhtiyar grabbed him by the hair and bashed his head twice against the arm of a wooden chair.

They then dragged Mr Faizal to a corner of the unit and continued assaulting him, raining blows and kicks to his head, torso and legs.

Norhayati later poured hot water from a kettle on the left side of Mr Faizal's body, causing him to jump up from the floor screaming in agony.

He then ran out of the ground-level unit through the back door with his attackers trying to pursue him in vain.

The entire assault lasted about four minutes.

It is unclear how the attackers and their victims are related. Court papers also did not mention what happened to the victim's two friends.

A video of the incident, taken from multiple angles by Nurhanifah, went viral after it was uploaded on Facebook.

Mr Faizal was found to have suffered second-degree burns on 4.5 per cent of his body while Ms Farahtika suffered second- degree burns on her neck. She also had bruises and tenderness on her neck and right shoulder.

The three drug offences that Norhayati pleaded guilty to were two charges for methamphetamine consumption and one for failing to report for a drug urine test.

Another three charges for causing hurt and failing to report for a drug urine test were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Court papers said Norhayati had failed to report for a urine test on 47 occasions from 2017 to 2019.

For voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon or means, she could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.

Her accomplices had been dealt with earlier, with Bakhtiyar jailed for 10 weeks earlier this year and Nurhanifah jailed for 15 months last year.