Another attacker who was part of a group that attacked a stranger at Clarke Quay, has pleaded to his crimes that were committed a mere 18 days after he was released on a supervision order for drug offences.

20-year-old Taitus Wong Wei Zhi was previously sent to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) for the consumption of methamphetamine, before reoffending and ordered to go through informative training two years later.

He was released under a supervision order on 2 March 2022, and was required to stay out of trouble until 15 November 2024, which he failed to adhere to.

He ganged up on 30-year-old Justin Chua Yong Jie and attacked him with his friends near Clarke Quay on 20 March 2022, smashing a glass bottle on his head repeatedly, because his friend thought the victim was staring at hime.

Wong pleaded guilty earlier today (1 February) to one count of assault and one count of consuming methamphetamine.

His accomplice in the assault, Dani Zulastri Mohamad Salim, was sentenced yesterday to 8 months and 3 weeks imprisonment.

The case involving the third accomplice, 23-year-old Mohamad Amirul Shafi Abdullah, is currently still pending; while a fourth man who was present during the attack, 20-year-old Noor Shah Ryzwa Azman, was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal back in August.

Context

The group of guys were drinking at Circular Road on 20 March 2022 at about 7pm when Amirul showed Dani the knife that he had in his possession.

Dani Zulastri Mohamad Salim, Taitus Wong Wei Zhi and Mohamad Amirul Shafi Abdullah were drinking alcohol on 20 March 2022 at about 7pm at The Mask Restaurant and Bar along Circular Road.

Another Noor Shah Ryzqa Azman was also with the trio at the time, and they shared a bottle of whiskey before leaving the bar at about 10.30pm.

Wong was carrying the bottle of whiskey with him and drinking from it as they walked around the area, and the four drunk men then ended up near the Riverside Point mall along Merchant Road.

They wanted to buy cigarettes and asked a security guard for directions to a nearby 7-Eleven.

The victim was with his friends nearby drinking at a bar before he left and went to the 7-Eleven by himself, crossing paths with Amirul.

Amirul thought Chua was staring at him and attacked him from behind with Wong, who smashed the whiskey bottle on Chua’s head, resulting in him losing a patch of his hair,

They also rained punches on Chua, who had fallen onto the ground by this point, and Dani Zulastri then ran towards them and joined in the assault after hearing the commotion, kicking Chua.

Ryzwa was watching the attack from afar, before fleeing from the crime scene with the trio, running towards the State Courts.

After fleeing, Amirul called Wong and told him that during the attack, he used a karambit knife and slashed the victim three times.

Chua then went back to the bar while he was bleeding to seek help from his friends, and an ambulance was then called.

He was conveyed to the Singapore General Hospital with cuts to his scalp, diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and given 17 days of medical leave.

Wong was arrested on 29 March 2022 and a sample of his urine was found to have traces of methamphetamine.

His case has been adjourned to 28 February.

A man who left his cat at home to starve was recently fined $10,000 after causing the death of his pet.

25-year-old Khairulnizam Khan Kamalrozaman, was initially charged back in August with starving his pet cat to death, but his charge has since been amended to causing it unnecessary pain and suffering by not providing it with enough food and water.

Many people fail to take proper care of their pets. In many cases, people become pet owners without understanding the responsibility that comes with owning an animal.

They may not have enough money for pet food or veterinary care, or they may not have the time or energy to give their pet the attention and care it needs.

Sembawang

According to Channel NewsAsia, Khairulnizam’s offences took place from 25 December 2020 to 2 February 2021.

The cat was kept in his Sembawang flat, where he didn’t feed it enough water and food, resulting in the death of the cat.

He was expected to plead guilty on 26 October but requested an adjournment from the court to raise money for his wife who had just given birth 3 weeks ago.

He also claimed that he had an appointment with the Housing Board that he can’t miss because it would mean his flat being repossessed.

He was then granted an adjournment to December, where he will be pleading guilty to his offences.

The case finally ended when he was sentenced to a fine of $10,000 on Jan 30.

How he got caught

His neighbours caught a foul smell lingering around his unit and called the authorities to step in.

When the authorities arrived they found the dead cat and it was decomposing.

Khairulnizam was unable to pay the $10,000 fine and he was jailed for 20 days instead.

According to an article by Today, a 56 year old man by the name of A Mathavan, was given 12 months of jail term for his latest stealing ‘tour’.

A Mathavan had a long history of petty theft offences and in sentencing him to the imprisonment term, the judge had said that hopefully this latest jail term can provide some ‘aid’ to the man.

Mathavan is also diagnosed to be schizophrenic, which is a mental disorder in where the affected person interprets reality abnormally.

Plead guilty to four counts of theft in dwelling

Mathavan had pleaded to guilty to a total of four counts of the theft in dwelling offence.

Another 10 charges, five of a similar nature, four of harassment and one for using words to wound the feelings of other religions and races were also looked into during his sentencing.

He did not had any legal representation but told the court that he was struggling with mental health issues and had committed the theft because he could not survive by himself.

He also told the judge that he could not find a proper job because he had records with the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and he also said that he had problems getting financial aid.

One of the charges against him was for stealing bread

Mathavan also said in court that he did not get enough money to survive which was why he stole bread.

He had also stole other items such as paper notebooks, soft drink bottles as well as shopping baskets belonging to the supermarkets.

The following is what happened

On 14 Sept 2021, the unemployed Mathavan went to Popular bookstore to purchase some items.

He then made payment at the cashier and asked the staff if he could leave his purchased items there and return later in the day to pick them up.

The staff then suggested to him that he choose the delivery service which he agreed and left the shop.

The staff then found out after he left that notebooks amounting to $50 were missing.

CCTV footage showed that Mathavan had took it while he was being attended to by the staff.

He then went back to the same Popular bookstore a few days later to steal a few batteries and also harassed another staff using ‘rude’ words.

Offended again a year later

A year later on 13 September 2022, Mathavan went to a Value Dollar shop to take four cleaning products which were worth around $8.50 and while he was stopped by the shop’s employee, he told her that he did not had any money and therefore the Police were involved.

On another two occasions, one in 2021 September and another in 2022 November, Mathavan stole soft drinks, hygiene and cleaning products as well as three shopping baskets.

He was finally arrested in 2022 November after the Police issued a warrant for his arrest for his multiple shop theft offences.

Wounded feelings of another race

On 16 September 2021, he also used words to wound the feelings of a Malay person at a MRT station.

Has history of theft offences

Mathavan had a long history of theft offences dating back to the mid 1980s.

In 2002, he was given ten years of preventive detention.

In court, Mathavan apologised for his actions and asked for leniency and said that he had problems because his mental condition kept relapsing.

For each count of his offence of theft in dwelling, he could have faced up to a jail term of seven years and also be liable to a fine.

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