A MAN who went on the run for seven years after taking part in a gang attack in which a youth died was jailed for nearly four years yesterday.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) deserter Muhammad Sazali escaped to Malaysia by walking along two water pipes spanning the Johor Strait at Marsiling after the attack in April 2003.
He turned himself in last year and was yesterday sentenced to 21/2 years in jail and six strokes of the cane for rioting while armed with a knife.
Muhammad, 29, was also jailed for a year and three months – the sentence is to run consecutively – for deserting the SCDF following the attack at a club in Clarke Quay, which left 19-year-old Mohamad Sadik Senin dead.
A district court heard how Muhammad’s group members, who called themselves the Ubi Boys after the neighbourhood they hailed from, planned the attack on another group of men.
At about midnight, four members went to Jams The Club, where they knew their rivals would be. They were soon joined by the rest of the Ubi Boys, most of whom arrived in two vans. Some acted as lookouts, while others armed themselves with weapons from the vans.
A fight involving knives and screwdrivers then erupted between the two groups. The Ubi Boys’ target was Mr Suhaimi Salleh, then 22.
Four days earlier, he had allegedly assaulted an Ubi Boy at Clarke Quay in an argument over a woman.
In the later clash, Mr Suhaimi was not injured but his friend, Mr Mohamad Sadik, who was due to enlist for national service, suffered multiple slash and stab wounds.
He was found lying motionless outside the bar and died in the Singapore General Hospital at about 3.50am.
Police investigations revealed that the injuries were inflicted by Muhammad and three others, whose identities are not known.
The cause of death was found to be acute bleeding of the aorta.
Forensic evidence indicated that the injury was likely to have been inflicted by a screwdriver in the back that entered his heart.
Four attackers were arrested at the scene, and the rest were caught later.
Muhammad went into hiding immediately after the attack. A week later he ran off to Malaysia, where he stayed with relatives and did odd jobs.
In May last year, the Singaporean surrendered himself to the Malaysian police and was jailed for four months for entering the country illegally. He was released on Aug 20 and handed over to the police here.
He initially faced a murder charge, but this was later reduced to rioting with a knife.
Muhammad could have been jailed for up to seven years and caned up to 24 times for rioting with a deadly weapon, and given up to 10 years for desertion.
Fourteen accomplices involved in the attack have been dealt with. They received sentences ranging from probation and reformative training to prison terms of six months to 11/2 years and caning.
