Last of 3 men who randomly attacked stranger near Clarke Quay jailed 10 months

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
April 27, 2023

A man and his two accomplices had first met in a reformative training centre (RTC) and now, all three have been sentenced to jail for taking part in a group attack on a stranger near Clarke Quay in March 2022.

On Thursday, Mohamad Amirul Shafi Abdullah, 23, pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was sentenced to 10 months’ jail.

He was also ordered to pay compensation of $269.65 to the victim, Mr Justin Chua Yong Jie, who suffered head injuries as a result of the assault.

Amirul will spend an additional three days behind bars if he is unable to fork out the amount.

He was the last person involved in the attack to be dealt with in court.

On March 20, 2022, Amirul, Taitus Wong Wei Zhi, 21, and Dani Zulastri Mohamad Salim, 23, went to a Circular Road bar near Boat Quay at about 7pm. They ordered a bottle of liquor to share.

They were intoxicated when they left the bar at around 10.30pm.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu said that Wong was holding the liquor bottle and was consuming its contents as the group walked around. They ended up near Riverside Point shopping mall in Merchant Road, near Clarke Quay.

The prosecutor said Mr Chua, 30, was walking to a convenience store in the vicinity at around 10.45pm when Wong and Amirul attacked him from behind.

“(Amirul) felt that the victim had stared at him. Taitus used the glass bottle to hit the victim’s head a few times... (Amirul) and Taitus punched the victim. Dani heard the commotion and ran towards them to join in,” she added.

According to Amirul, he also attacked Mr Chua with a knife and slashed him three times.

The three offenders ran off after the attack, and the police were alerted at around 11pm.

Mr Chua, who had wounds on his scalp, was taken to the Singapore General Hospital.

He was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, with giddiness as well as memory loss.

Mr Chua was later discharged and given 17 days’ medical leave.

Amirul and Wong were arrested in late March 2022, while Dani was caught the following month.

Wong, a recalcitrant drug abuser, was sentenced in February 2023 to five years and eight months in jail and three strokes of the cane.

He had admitted to one count each of assault and methamphetamine consumption.

Dani was sentenced in January 2023 to eight months and three weeks in jail after he pleaded guilty to one count each of assault and mischief.

Wong and Dani were also ordered to each pay the victim $269.65 in compensation.

Amirul was convicted in 2019 of offences including voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a weapon. He went to an RTC where he met Wong and Dani.

Young offenders given reformative training are detained in an RTC to follow a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.

Amirul was released on Sept 22, 2021, and was placed under supervision from then until July 28, 2023.

He was supposed to keep himself out of trouble during this period, but reoffended with his two accomplices about six months later.