Orchard Road fatal brawl: Man gets jail, caning for rioting
Sijesh Asogan was sentenced to 2½ years' jail and four strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a rioting charge. PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – After partying at an Orchard Road club, a secret society member and other men – referred to in court documents as the 'rioting group' – got into a dispute with one of the nightspot's former bouncers and rained blows on him.
During the brawl on Aug 20, 2023, gang member Sijesh Asogan punched and kicked Mr Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail, 29, at three separate locations near Club Rumours, located in Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall.
According to the prosecution, another member of the rioting group, identified as Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, p icked up a knife that Mr Isrrat had dropped and repeatedly stabbed him with it.
An ambulance rushed Mr Isrrat to hospital where he was pronounced dead at around 7am.
On May 7, Sijesh, 27, who is a Singaporean, was sentenced to 2½ years' jail and four strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a rioting charge.
Asvain, then 30, was earlier handed a murder charge and his case is pending.
Multiple men linked to the case were earlier given jail sentences. Among them were Sridharan Elangovan, then 30, and Manojkumar Velayanatham, then 32, from the rioting group.
Other men who used to work for Club Rumours, including Zurfaqar Musli, then 34, Mohamad Zachary Danial Mohamad Azhar, then 23; and Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman, then 31, were also dealt with in court earlier.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu told the court that Asvain, Manojkumar, Sridharan were members of the same secret society at the time while Sijesh came from a related gang.
She added that Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam, who were former Club Rumours bouncers, were from a different secret society.
Shortly before the tragedy, Sijesh arrived at Club Rumours at around 3.40am on Aug 20, 2023, to join the other members of the rioting group.
About an hour later, Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam arrived at the nightspot as Mr Isrrat wanted to pass his wedding invitation cards to his former colleagues.
Meanwhile, Zurfaqar , then the club's chief bouncer, spotted members of the rioting group and asked Zachary to retrieve three knives from a locker outside the nightspot.
The latter did so, handing a watermelon knife to Zurfaqar and a bread knife to Shahrulnizam. Zachary armed himself with the third knife, and the trio returned to Club Rumours.
Mr Isrrat also armed himself with a knife, said the DPP.
The nightspot closed around 6am, prompting patrons to leave and head to an exit towards Kramat Lane.
Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam then yelled vulgarities at the men in the rioting group.
Members of the group confronted the pair. A scuffle broke out and Shahrulnizam used a knife to slash three men. He and Mr Isrrat then ran off, pursued by the rioting group.
The prosecutors told the court that Mr Isrrat spotted a friend of the rioting group and stabbed the man's forehead before fleeing.
Meanwhile, Shahrulnizam, who was ahead of Mr Isrrat, headed to a corridor outside Club Rumours. He then saw the rioting group running after Mr Isrrat.
They caught up with Mr Isrrat, who fell after Sijesh punched him twice. Other members of the group then surrounded Mr Isrrat and rained blows on him near an escalator.
Mr Isrrat managed to get back up and run away, but members of the rioting group continued to pursue him.
They cornered him near a glass door exit leading towards Orchard Road and attacked him again. The court heard that Sijesh kicked Mr Isrrat at least once at this spot.
Somehow, Mr Isrrat managed to get back to his feet and ran out of the building. Members of the rioting group continued their pursuit and one of them shoved him to the ground.
Mr Isrrat's knife also fell to the ground, and a group of men including Sijesh, then attacked him. Court documents stated that Sijesh kicked his head four times.
DPP Chu said: 'After witnessing the accused persons kicking (Mr Isrrat), Asvain picked up the small knife (Mr Isrrat) had dropped and stabbed (him) with it multiple times.'
The rioting group left the vicinity soon after.
On May 7, defence lawyer Joyce Khoo urged the court to sentence Sijesh to two years and two months jail, and four strokes of the cane.
She added that her client regretted his actions and is 'committed to turn his life around'.
Sijesh's bail has been set at $65,000, and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on May 21.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
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