Two youths were charged in a district court on Saturday (April 9) after allegedly attacking two others with bread knives in broad daylight earlier this week, amid a recent spate of weapon-related crimes.

Muhammad Sajid Saleem, 20, and Niswan Thiruchelvam, 19, face a charge each of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Mr Praveen Raj Chanthiran by dangerous weapons with common intention.

Court documents did not give Mr Praveen's age but the police previously said that the duo had allegedly attacked two other men, aged 22 and 23, at the open-air car park of Block 175 Boon Lay Drive around 5pm on Wednesday. They were not charged with injuring the other man.

Video clips of the incident subsequently circulated on social media.

A resident there told TODAY that the victims were his friends who were on their way to his home after his temple wedding ceremony. It remains unclear what Sajid and Niswan’s motives were in allegedly attacking them.

The resident said that one of the victims was discharged from hospital on Friday, while the other was moved out of the intensive care ward to a regular ward. The police said they had suffered multiple lacerations to their heads and limbs.

Sajid and Niswan were arrested at the vicinity of Woodlands Street 12 on Thursday evening after an islandwide manhunt. They had allegedly fled and disposed of their weapons before police officers arrived at the scene.

Police officers took the pair to the crime scene on Friday afternoon, leading them to different locations around the neighbourhood.

Both youths appeared in court via a video-link from Central Police Division on Saturday, with a police prosecutor asking for them to be remanded for a week for further investigations and "recovery of exhibits".

District Judge Carolyn Woo granted the request and adjourned the case to April 14.

If convicted of causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, they could be jailed for life, or jailed for up to 15 years as well as caned or fined. Young offenders under 21 can also be sentenced to reformative training or probation.

The police said in a news release on Friday that they “will not tolerate heinous and violent crimes that threaten public safety and will spare no effort to ensure that offenders are swiftly brought to justice”.

“Offenders will be dealt with firmly, and in accordance with the law to safeguard public safety, peace and good order in Singapore.”

In March, a 64-year-old man armed with a knife died after he was shot in the chest by the police. He had refused to drop his weapon despite multiple warnings and was tasered three times.

Last month, a 37-year-old man was charged after he was seen wielding a sword at Buangkok Crescent, swinging it at a pedestrian and hitting passing cars.

In the same month, a 27-year-old man was charged with throwing a "watermelon knife" at a police officer in Bukit Batok.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by LOUISA TANG

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]