Four Malaysians jailed one week each for disorderly behaviour at football match

Malaysians (from left) Roslina Mohd Bakri, Raja Abdul Hadi Raja Rozhan, Haridass Manorahan and Norkhaizan Jelani were sentenced to a week in jail each on Friday, May 30, 2014, for disorderly behaviour outside Jalan Besar stadium on May 20, with
Malaysians (from left) Roslina Mohd Bakri, Raja Abdul Hadi Raja Rozhan, Haridass Manorahan and Norkhaizan Jelani were sentenced to a week in jail each on Friday, May 30, 2014, for disorderly behaviour outside Jalan Besar stadium on May 20, with a pre-trial conference fixed for June 9 for a fifth. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

SINGAPORE - Four Malaysians were sentenced to a week in jail each on Friday for disorderly behaviour outside Jalan Besar stadium on May 20, with a pre-trial conference fixed for June 9 for a fifth.

The four are Roslina Mohd Bakri and Raja Abdul Hadi Raja Rozhan, both 25, Norkhaizan Jelani, 28 and Haridass Manorahan, 27.

They were part of a group of 30 fans of Malaysian football club Johor Darul Takzim, who were denied entry to the team's match against Singapore Lions XII that night because they were holding tickets meant for Singapore fans.

This was explained to them at during the half-time break outside the stadium's entrance along Horne Road, where they were gathered, but they remained rowdy and insisted on being let in.

Uniformed officers from the Special Operations Command and Division Tactical Troop formed two lines to control the group, and plain clothes officers ordered the Malaysian fans to disperse. But they continued to be rowdy.

Haridass then began to argue aggressively with an officer. The group chanted their team's slogan repeatedly to show their displeasure and continued shouting and gesticulating wildly despite warnings to disperse.

After Raja Abdul Hadi and Norkhaizan were arrested, Roslina pushed through the crowd and screamed at officers to let go of Norkhaizan.

All four pleaded guilty. The fifth man, 28-year-old Mohamed Kamil Kamal Basha, allegedly pushed his way through a police line and spoke in an aggressive manner.

The maximum penalty for disorderly behaviour in public is a jail term of one month or a fine of $1,000.

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