Attackers in Downtown East fight get jail terms of 8 to 10 years

Five of the accused who stabbed and slashed a student in a fight at Downtown East in 2010 were sentenced yesterday.

They had pleaded guilty to culpable homicide, Channel NewsAsia reported.

The five were part of a group who attacked Darren Ng Wei Jie, 19, a Republic Polytechnic student at the entertainment hub in Pasir Ris.

Ng, a member of the "Fong Hong San" secret society gang, died of multiple injuries, including 28 external injuries.

The five who will be jailed and caned are:

- Stilwell Ong Keat Pin, 20, jailed 12 years and to receive 12 strokes of the cane
- Ho Wui Ming, 22, jailed 11 years and three months, and to receive 10 strokes of the cane
- Chen Wei Zhen, 21, jailed 10 years and to receive 10 strokes of the cane
- Edward Tay Wei Loong, 20, jailed 10 years and to receive 10 strokes of the cane
- Louis Tong Qing Yao, 17, jailed 8 years and to receive 11 strokes of the cane

Ong, believed to be the main culprit, received the stiffest sentence. Prosecutors argued that he had gathered the other accomplices to Downtown East for the confrontation, Channel NewsAsia reported.

Ho faced two other charges for theft and mischief, while Tong faced two moneylending-related charges.

At a previous court hearing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Peggy Pao-Keerthi had urged Justice Tay Yong Kwang to send a clear signal that the young men’s "vicious and brutal acts" should be viewed with "the utmost seriousness by the courts", Today newspaper reported. "Their acts damaged the faith of the citizens of Singapore in the safety of their public recreation areas," she said.

She added that the "secret society-related assault" is an aggravating factor, and that Ho, Chen, Tay and Tong, who were secret society members, committed their offences "out of blind loyalty" to Ong and their gang.

In mitigation, the lawyers for the accused said the fight had erupted in the heat of the moment and that the boys were genuinely remorseful.

THE CASE

At about 6pm on 30 October 2010, the police got a call about a fight at Downtown East. Court documents stated that when they arrived at the scene, they found Darren Ng in a semi-lying position on the floor, leaning against the wall outside a restaurant.

Investigations revealed that the incident arose out of bad blood between Stillwel Ong of the “369” secret society gang with another member of the “Fong Hong San” secret society gang. Members of the two gangs met at Downtown East, including Ng. Later, Ng was accused of staring at the rival group members, and a confrontation ensued with Ong and Ng reportedly pushing and shoving each other. A fight started when Ng reportedly took out a retractable baton in response to a chilli sauce bottle that Ong took along that fell on the floor.

The group slashed and stabbed Ng with knives, choppers and a screwdriver.

He was sent to Changi General Hospital and died five hours later at about 10.50pm that day. The group members were later arrested.

Seven others linked to the case have earlier been jailed and caned for rioting:

- Tang Jia Min, 23, jailed six years and three months, and received six strokes of the cane.
- Ho Wei Quan, 19, jailed five years and received six strokes of the cane.
- Puay De Feng, 21, jailed five years and received six strokes of the cane.
- Lewis Wee Jun Jie, 22, jailed four years and 10 months, and received six strokes of the cane.
- Jason Chew Wei Beng, 21, jailed four years and received six strokes of the cane
- Chong Rui Hong, 20, jailed four years and received three strokes of the cane.

Source: News.insing

---