SINGAPORE: A chief bouncer at a club in Orchard Road was at work when he asked a subordinate to retrieve three knives from a nearby locker after spotting a group of secret society members in the vicinity.
The weapons had been in the locker outside Club Rumours, a nightspot in Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall, and plans were earlier made for the club’s bouncers to use them in the event of any attacks there, court documents stated.
The chief bouncer, Zurfaqar Musli, fellow bouncer Mohamad Zachary Danial Mohamad Azhar, then 23 and former Club Rumours bouncer Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman, then 31, armed themselves with a knife each, and a brawl broke out soon after.
The prosecution said in earlier proceedings that another former Club Rumours bouncer Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail, 29, who had gone to the club to pass his wedding invitation cards to its staff, died after Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, then 30, stabbed him.
On April 21, Zurfaqar, 34, who did not make use of his knife during the brawl, was sentenced to six months’ jail and six strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to being in possession of a weapon.
Asvain was earlier handed a murder charge and his case is pending.
Multiple men linked to the case were dealt with in court earlier. They included Sridharan Elangovan, then 30, Manojkumar Velayanatham, then 32, from Asvain’s group, as well as Zachary and Shahrulnizam.
Deputy public prosecutors Kathy Chu and Brian Tan stated in court documents that in the evening of Aug 19, 2023, Zurfaqar asked his subordinates, including Zachary, to watch over the club’s patrons to ensure that there was no rowdiness.
Between 3.36am and 4.50am the next day, a group of men, referred to as the “rioting group” in court documents, arrived at the club. The secret society members included Sridharan and Manojkumar.
Isrrat and Shahrulnizam, who were from a rival secret society, also arrived at the club that morning.
Zurfaqar spotted the rioting group and asked Zachary to get the knives. The latter did so, handing a watermelon knife to Zurfaqar and a bread knife to Shahrulnizam. Zachary armed himself with the third knife and the trio returned to Club Rumours.
The nightspot later closed around 6am, prompting patrons to leave and head to an exit towards Kramat Lane.
Isrrat and Shahrulnizam yelled vulgarities at the men in the rioting group. Members of the group then confronted the pair. A scuffle broke out and Shahrulnizam used a knife to slash three men. He and Isrrat then ran off, pursued by the rioting group.
The prosecutors told the court that Isrrat spotted a friend of the rioting group and stabbed the man on the forehead before fleeing.
Meanwhile, Shahrulnizam, who was ahead of Isrrat, headed to a corridor outside Club Rumours. He then saw the rioting group running after Isrrat. A knife that was in Isrrat’s possession fell to the ground when he was pushed.
In earlier proceedings, the prosecution said: “Asvain picked up the small knife (Isrrat) had dropped and stabbed (him) with it multiple times.”
The rioting group left the vicinity soon after and the staff of Club Rumours called for an ambulance
Isrrat was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 7am.
On April 21, defence lawyer Aristotle Eng pleaded for Zurfaqar to be given four months’ jail and six strokes of the cane, stressing that his client did not brandish the knife in his possession. He added that Zurfaqar did not flee the scene when the brawl ended and had helped the authorities with their investigation.
For being in possession of a weapon in a public place, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and receive at least six strokes of the cane. - The Straits Times/ANN
