Woman, 19, found with lacerations in Bugis hotel arrested, 4 others nabbed after manhunt

Three men and two women, aged between 16 and 23, were arrested for allegedly voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means with common intention and suspected drug-related offences, said police.

On Monday (March 27) at 11:52am, police officers received information of a case of assault along Jalan Kubor.

Officers responded to the scene and discovered blood stains in a room at Rest Bugis Hotel.

A 19-year-old woman was found with lacerations and was arrested. She was conscious when taken to the hospital.

Through ground enquiries and the aid of images from police and CCTV cameras, officers from Central Police Division established the identities of the persons involved and conducted a manhunt.

Three men and one other woman were placed under arrest within 24 hours of the report.

A witness told Shin Min Daily News that he saw two men sitting in a back alley with one bleeding profusely on his right leg.

A woman with blonde hair rushed out of the hotel looking anxious and ran back in after speaking to them, said the witness, who added that he later saw the woman in handcuffs and riding away in an ambulance.

Mr Giorgio Cetkovic, an executive chef for several restaurants in the area, told The Straits Times he saw police officers with gloves searching the back alleys in Jalan Kubor.

“Staff from the different eateries in the area had come out to look, but we didn’t know what was going on,” he said.

“The police appeared to be looking for something, and trying to get security camera footage.”

Two weapons, believed to be sharp objects, were later found in the area.

A man working at one of the nearby hostels said the police approached him with a list of names and IC numbers, asking if anyone with those particulars had been staying at the hostel. None of them turned up in the hostel’s records.

One of the people arrested is Indonesian while the others are Singaporeans, he said.

On Wednesday (March 29), a 23-year-old woman identified as Norliana Hazuliani and the 18-year-old Indonesian were each handed an assault charge.

The teen already had a warrant of arrest against him. He was charged in court last year and released on bail. The warrant was issued when he jumped bail.

He cannot be named as he was 17 years old when he allegedly committed his earlier offences in July 2021. People below 18 are protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.

The pair and a 22-year-old man, Mohammad Ghufran Sinarfadhli, allegedly used a serrated knife to attack a man at the Rest Bugis Hotel on Monday.

The teen and woman’s cases have been adjourned to April 5, while Ghufran is expected to be charged on Thursday.