SINGAPORE - A man who was one of the drivers involved in a car chase which ended in a fatal crash outside the Istana in 2017 was sentenced on Monday (Feb 15) to the maximum 14 years of corrective training.
This is a prison regime for repeat offenders without the usual one-third remission for good behaviour.
Irsyad Sameer Abdul Rahim, now 30, was also disqualified from driving for six years and ordered to receive 16 strokes of the cane.
On Dec 16, 2017, the secret society member and his gang members were unhappy with a man identified as Mr Johari Sharif.
This eventually led to the car chase where they pursued a vehicle that Mr Johari was in. The car was driven by Mr Muhammad Khairulanwar Mohamed Sani, 25, and had another passenger, Ms Nurul Filzah Syazwani Abdul Rahim, 21.
The chase ended when the trio's car ploughed into the Istana's rear gate in Cavenagh Road at around 6am, killing Mr Khairulanwar and Ms Nurul. Mr Johari, who suffered multiple fractures, survived.
Irsyad pleaded guilty in December last year to 20 charges for offences including assault, voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant and rioting.
The court heard that Irsyad and his group were at Club Baliza at Marina Square on Dec 16, 2017 when one of them punched Mr Johari.
The club's security staff told Irsyad and his group to leave the premises.
Seven of them, including Irsyad, were from the same secret society. The eighth man was aware that the men were gang members.
The group then waited outside for Mr Johari.
They later spotted Mr Johari in a white car driven by Mr Khairulanwar.
Irsyad and his group got into their vehicles and chased after it. Mr Khairulanwar's car later crashed outside the Istana.
Irsyad was arrested on June 6, 2017, before he was released on bail.
Separately, Irsyad and three of his gang members launched a "revenge attack" against a man from a rival group on March 31, 2018.
Armed with parangs, the men went to KTV Club Destino in Jalan Besar, the workplace of Mr Hermanto Abdul Talib, 41, and attacked him.
Some of the attackers decided to "thrash" the KTV rooms and Irsyad even slashed a customer's head with his parang. Irsyad and his group then fled the scene.
The two victims were unwilling to go to a hospital in Singapore to treat their injuries "for fear of reprisal from the accused persons and for personal reasons".
The Criminal Investigation Department carried out an operation in Tampines to nab Irsyad in the wee hours of April 7, 2018. Officers sprang into action when they spotted him walking towards a car.
But when the Singaporean spotted them, he entered his vehicle, locked the door and sped off.
The vehicle struck a policeman who was later taken to hospital and was treated for injuries including multiple abrasions. Police arrested Irsyad later that day.
