Six men were on Monday given either five or six year jail terms plus at least four strokes of the cane each for their roles in a brutal clash that left a 52-year-old unemployed victim dead two days later.

The men are Anandraj Manimaran and S. Karthikesu, both 21; twin brothers Muhizin Khan and Segu Jamaldeen Nafil Mohamed, and Suriya Thankamany, all 20; and Abdul Samad Mohamed Kasim, 25.

They had punched and kicked Mr Goh Ho Leong at Tiong Bahru Park in March 2011 after a dispute in a public toilet there and continued to do so even after he fell. This left their victim with multiple injuries including a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain. He died two days later in hospital.

Muhizin and Suriya, who also used glass bottles to hit his head and face, received the stiffer six-year jail terms. Suriya received six strokes of the can and the other men four.

The men had pleaded guilty on Sep 27, with Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohamed Faizal and Puspha S. pushing for jail terms of between seven and eight years plus six strokes of the cane for Muhizin and Suriya, and six to seven years in jail and six strokes for the others.

But defence lawyers Jeyapalan Ayaduray, Ramesh Tiwary, S.K. Kumar and Josephus Tan pleaded for leniency for their respective clients highlighting the lack of premeditation and the provocative role the victim had played.