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Man jailed more than 2 years over Serangoon samurai sword attack which took place in broad daylight

SINGAPORE — A 26-year-old man became the second man to be dealt with in court over a serious slashing incident along Serangoon Road in 2018, which involved weapons like a baton and samurai sword.

The victim’s foot was partially amputated in the attack which involved a baton, samurai sword and chopper.

The victim’s foot was partially amputated in the attack which involved a baton, samurai sword and chopper.

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SINGAPORE — A 26-year-old man became the second man to be dealt with in court over a serious slashing incident along Serangoon Road in 2018, which involved weapons like a baton and samurai sword.

Victor Alexander Arumugam was sentenced to one year, five months and one week in jail on Friday (Feb 28), and an additional 300 days for breaching his remission order when participating in the attack on July 25, 2018.

Victor, who has been in remand since his arrest, pleaded guilty to one count of rioting and another unrelated charge of affray.

He was previously jailed for three years for offences that included causing hurt by a dangerous weapon or means, as well as being a member of an unlawful assembly, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Timotheus Koh told the court.

Besides Victor, 18-year-old Sharvin Raj Suraj has been sentenced to reformative training for his role. The cases of Arjun Retnavelu, Haresh Shanmuganathan and Dinesh Kumar Ruvy are still pending.

Following his arrest, Arjun was taken to Lower Peirce Reservoir as part of investigations. 

The 24-year-old had told the authorities that he wrapped the samurai sword in an orange cloth and thrown it into the reservoir while he was drunk, some two hours after the incident.

Arjun was also said to have wrapped a metal baton in the cloth and dumped it in the reservoir. However, divers were unable to find the weapons after a four-hour search that day.

The court heard on Friday that the weapons were eventually recovered and seized. 

Arjun had allegedly handed them to a friend after the attack, who took them back to his home.

WHAT HAPPENED

At about 2.15pm on the day of the attack, Dinesh was driving the others in a Nissan Latio when Arjun spotted the victim sitting at a bus stop opposite Broadway Hotel.

Arjun “wanted to take revenge against the victim”, so he asked Dinesh to stop at the side of the road and open the car boot, DPP Koh said.

The prosecutor added that three of them armed themselves with weapons from the boot — a samurai sword, a baton and a chopper — but Victor and Haresh did not.

The group descended upon the victim at the bus stop and punched and kicked him, then slashed him with the samurai sword and chopper and bashed him with the baton.

The attack lasted less than 30 seconds but it was enough to leave the victim, now aged 27, with severe injuries. These included the partial amputation of his right mid-foot and lacerations on his arm, back and head.

The court further heard that the group fled back to the car and drove away.

Arjun allegedly asked Dinesh to drive to his friend’s home and asked a friend to bring a piece of cloth. 

They met at the void deck of a Yishun block of flats, where Arjun handed the weapons over to the other man, DPP Koh told the court.

His affray charge was in relation to another incident where Victor got into a fight with a group of men at a Lucky Plaza bus stop on April 28, 2018.

He had gone to Club Platinum at Orchard Road with some friends to celebrate a birthday. When they left the club, he thought another man was staring at him, so he punched him.

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