Boon Lay wedding slashing: Man attacked guest with bread knife for talking to his GF

Samuel Devaraj
The Straits Times
Nov 2, 2022

A man who was upset that another man was talking to his girlfriend used a bread knife to attack him at a wedding celebration in Boon Lay on April 6.

Muhammad Sajid Saleem, 20, pleaded guilty to two charges on Wednesday, including one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with weapons.

He also faced one count of being a member of a secret society between July 2020 and April 2022, and had three other charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren said the attack took place in a carpark near Block 175 Boon Lay Drive.

The day before, Sajid and his friend, a 19-year-old man, discussed going there as they knew the person who was talking to his girlfriend would be nearby for the wedding.

The pair went there with two 23.5cm-long bread knives and attacked two guests at the wedding celebration.

DPP Arvindren asked the court to sentence Sajid to 39 months’ jail and six strokes of the cane, describing the attack as hideous and citing the need for deterrence.

He added that the day of the attack was supposed to be one to remember for the victims and the wedding couple, but ultimately became a day to forget for everyone involved.

Sajid’s lawyer N. Divanan from Phoenix Law Corporation asked the court to call for a report to determine his reformative training.

But DPP Arvindren said that even if the report were to show Sajid’s suitability for reformative training, the prosecution would stand by its position of calling for a jail sentence.

Reformative training involves detention in a centre with a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.

District Judge Carol Ling called for the reformative training report. Sajid, who is in remand, will return to court on Nov 23 for sentencing.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt with weapons, he can be jailed for up to 15 years and fined or caned.

For the charge under the Societies Act, he can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $5,000.

The other youth, who is accused of being an accomplice in the slashing incident, faces charges for being part of the same secret society between 2016 and April 2022.

He is expected to plead guilty to his charges on Nov 9 and cannot be named as he was 14 years old in 2016. Those accused of committing offences before they turn 18 are covered under the Children and Young Persons Act.