2 men jailed for intimidating ‘shaman’ who claimed to provide spiritual protection against weapons

SINGAPORE - After his nephew was cheated by a “shaman” who claimed he could provide spiritual protection against sharp weapons, a man threatened the “shaman” with a penknife and tricked him into believing he was being ganged up on.

Abdul Latiff Haji Hussainar, 53, was sentenced to five months’ jail on Wednesday after pleading guilty to one count of criminal intimidation and another of theft.

His nephew, Muhammad Alim Burhanudeen, 23, admitted to one count of criminal intimidation, one count of theft and an unrelated charge under the Arms and Explosives Act. He was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail and fined $3,000.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir said Alim met the victim, Mr Akbar Yaseen Mohamed Jeenah, 38, on the online marketplace Carousell in November 2020. Mr Akbar represented himself as a Malay shaman who could provide spiritual protection against the use of sharp weapons.

Alim engaged Mr Akbar, who performed the service for Alim and a friend and gave them each a bottle of water to drink. Alim paid him $150 while his friend paid $300.

Alim later realised he had been cheated by Mr Akbar and informed his uncle Latiff about this in March 2021.

In June 2021, Latiff lured the victim by messaging him on Carousell under the guise of a new customer seeking urgent assistance for protection. They agreed to meet at Block 327 Jurong East Street 31.

That night, Latiff told Alim he would threaten Mr Akbar into returning the money by pretending to have many accomplices around the Housing Board block.

Latiff told Alim his plan: He would approach Mr Akbar first and then phone Alim to come over by uttering certain Hokkien words during the call. They would then pretend to have many men surrounding the area.

When Mr Akbar arrived, Latiff asked him aggressively if he had a problem with Alim and accused him of being a scammer.

At some point, on Latiff’s signal, Alim walked over in an aggressive manner, with his arms swinging. He called the victim a fake shaman and scolded him for treating him like a fool.

When Latiff asked his nephew where their “guys” were, Alim said they were waiting at a carpark.

Latiff demanded $500 from Mr Akbar to resolve the matter. When he refused, Latiff directed Alim in Malay to “take out the sharp item” – a penknife.

Latiff pointed the penknife at Mr Akbar ’s face and asked him to use it to either stab Latiff or himself. He said he wanted to see if Mr Akbar’s body had a “spirit”. The victim apologised and said he had no “spirit”.

When Latiff saw cars approaching, he pretended the occupants were men affiliated with him, and told Alim to tell them to go away and wait for his instructions. 

Later that night, Mr Akbar withdrew $500 from an ATM and handed the money to Alim. Latiff warned him not to inform the police or implicate Alim, or he would “find him and finish him off”. 

Mr Akbar made a police report on June 24, 2021 and Alim and Latiff were arrested four days later.

DPP Amir said there was an element of deception in tricking the victim into believing he was ganged up on and surrounded by men affiliated to Alim and Latiff.

“This threat was repeated several times with different variations. This, coupled with the timing of the incident – in the wee hours of the night – and the aggressive conduct of the co-accused persons, made the threat seemingly very real to the victim,” he added.

Latiff’s lawyer, Mr Wilson Foo, said his client is highly remorseful and was just trying, in a misguided way, to seek justice for his nephew.

During sentencing, District Judge Marvin Bay said: “While the circumstances would show that there was some grievance against the victim for what was obviously a scam... the court must take a serious view of scammed parties taking matters into their own hands.

“We simply cannot condone acts of vigilantism, especially where threats of violence are made.”