'Senseless violence'
By Jeremy Au Yong
THE recent gang attacks at Downtown East and Bukit Panjang were not 'random acts' but 'senseless violence', and those involved will face 'very serious' consequences, said Home Minister K. Shanmugam on Friday.
Both attacks had clear gang-related motives behind them, Mr Shanmugam told reporters at a briefing on the gang situation.
Following the incidents, police picked up nearly 40 suspected gang members in an island-wide blitz and will continue their intense sweep in the coming weeks.
In his first comments on the gang attacks which have sparked calls for stronger police action, the minister said: 'The concern is understandable because these are not random acts. They were senseless violence. They were revenge attacks.
'We accept that we have to deal with this concern effectively.'
'Everyone involved will face very serious consequences,' he vowed. 'Police take a very serious view.'
In the Downtown East attack on Oct 30, in which Republic Polytechnic student Darren Ng, 19, was fatally slashed, Mr Shanmugam said it was a gang fight, with two gangs going for a meeting. He revealed that the victim who was killed also had a weapon.
In the Bukit Panjang incident, he said ongoing investigations show that the attack originated from a 'revenge motive'.
By Jeremy Au Yong
THE recent gang attacks at Downtown East and Bukit Panjang were not 'random acts' but 'senseless violence', and those involved will face 'very serious' consequences, said Home Minister K. Shanmugam on Friday.
Both attacks had clear gang-related motives behind them, Mr Shanmugam told reporters at a briefing on the gang situation.
Following the incidents, police picked up nearly 40 suspected gang members in an island-wide blitz and will continue their intense sweep in the coming weeks.
In his first comments on the gang attacks which have sparked calls for stronger police action, the minister said: 'The concern is understandable because these are not random acts. They were senseless violence. They were revenge attacks.
'We accept that we have to deal with this concern effectively.'
'Everyone involved will face very serious consequences,' he vowed. 'Police take a very serious view.'
In the Downtown East attack on Oct 30, in which Republic Polytechnic student Darren Ng, 19, was fatally slashed, Mr Shanmugam said it was a gang fight, with two gangs going for a meeting. He revealed that the victim who was killed also had a weapon.
In the Bukit Panjang incident, he said ongoing investigations show that the attack originated from a 'revenge motive'.
