3 nabbed as manhunt continues after 19-year-old injured in rioting case

Left and below: The minute-long video clip, widely circulated on social media, shows a group of men being attacked by another group armed with parangs at the People's Park Centre building. It also shows a man being attacked by at least three people w
Above: The minute-long video clip, widely circulated on social media, shows a group of men being attacked by another group armed with parangs at the People's Park Centre building. It also shows a man being attacked by at least three people with parangs. Police said a 19-year-old man was taken to hospital. PHOTO: KAKIS CLUB SINGAPORE/ FACEBOOK

Three people were arrested on Sunday following a case of rioting at the People's Park Centre apartment block.

The early-morning clash was caught on the building's closed circuit television (CCTV) camera and a video of the incident was widely circulated on social media and WhatsApp chat groups.

The minute-long video clip shows a group of men being attacked by another group armed with parangs.

A police spokesman told The Straits Times: "A 19-year-old man was conveyed conscious to Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

"Three persons have been arrested at the scene and a manhunt operation is currently under way to arrest the other people involved in the rioting case."

The injured man, Mr Muhammad Shazryl Hykel, is seen on the surveillance footage being attacked by at least three people who had drawn their parangs.

The attack left Mr Hykel with slash wounds to his legs, hands, abdomen and face, his mother, who wanted to be known only as Madam Samantha, told ST yesterday.

"On the way to the hospital, I kept asking myself: Will he survive, will he survive?" she said, recalling how she rushed to SGH on Sunday evening.

"The doctor said my son was lucky to be alive despite his injuries."

While she was able to see her son, Madam Samantha was not able to speak to him as he was sedated. He was in police custody, she said.

It was by coincidence that one of Madam Samantha's friends had asked her to look at the video clip on Sunday afternoon.

Above: The minute-long video clip, widely circulated on social media, shows a group of men being attacked by another group armed with parangs at the People's Park Centre building. It also shows a man being attacked by at least three people with parangs. Police said a 19-year-old man was taken to hospital. PHOTO: KAKIS CLUB SINGAPORE/ FACEBOOK

The friend thought that one of the men in the footage closely resembled Mr Hykel.

Asked if she knew of her son's whereabouts that day, Madam Samantha said that she was not aware of her son's activities as he lives with his girlfriend.

"I hope he recovers soon and becomes a better person, and not mix with negative influences," added Madam Samantha.

Mr Hykel is believed to be in stable condition in hospital, said Mr Noor Halis, who is part of M2M Movement, an organisation that mentors wayward youth.

Mr Noor said Mr Hykel is "such a jovial person who respected others".

"(We) started doing engagement with him (Mr Hykel) right after he was discharged from Muhammadiyah Welfare Home in 2018," Mr Noor said.

"M2M Movement was helping him to upgrade his life skill sets. He had improved and progressed well."

Based on the CCTV footage, there were at least 10 people at the scene.

Among them was a woman who was dragged by a man during the course of the rioting.

The incident on Level 16 took place just before 3.30am, when the police were alerted to the case at the building in Upper Cross Street.

When ST called the apartment block's security yesterday morning, a man who gave his name only as Mr Teo said: "Don't ask me. The police also came here. Go and ask them. This is all I can share."

An apartment resident, who did not want to be named, said that he was not aware of any fight or disturbance early Sunday morning.

He realised there had been trouble only when he noticed a police presence and cordon at the apartment building in the morning when he went out to buy breakfast.

While it is not known how the CCTV footage came to be widely circulated, a person who admitted to taking a video of the rioting had told friends in a WhatsApp chat group to "delete and not share footage of the incident".

He told them in a WhatsApp voice message that the video was meant for his "boss and manager", and not to be shared with anybody else.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 12, 2020, with the headline 3 nabbed as manhunt continues after 19-year-old injured in rioting case. Subscribe