A young man was yesterday jailed and ordered to be caned for slashing three victims with a knife after a staring incident at a McDonald's outlet in Toa Payoh.
Muhammad Maslan Mohd Amin, 22, was also admonished by District Judge Mathew Joseph for his "highly premeditated" actions.
The judge said Maslan was "determined" to look for the youth who stared at him when he rode for days around the housing estate. "You did not give up... went to look for them again. Instead of cooling down, you persisted."
Maslan, he noted, was armed with two knives and had concealed himself with a helmet and sweatshirt.
He said the injuries suffered by the victims were "extensive" and "serious" and the offences were not on the "spur of the moment".
Maslan was given 41/2 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane yesterday, after admitting to slashing an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old several times on June 25 last year.
He committed the offences with Muhammad Nizam Muhammad Nazri, 18, whose case is pending, and Muhammad Farhan Sazali, 20, who was sentenced to reformative training. A third charge of grievously hurting a 17-year-old was considered.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En said that a brief dispute broke out between Maslan and the 18-year-old at McDonald's in Toa Payoh Central on June 23 at around 3.30am, as Maslan thought the youth was staring at him.
Two days later at about 3am, Maslan spotted the three victims at the void deck of Block 46 in Toa Payoh.
He told Farhan that he had found the ones in the staring dispute and wanted to "cut them up". Maslan picked Farhan up andthey met Nizam. The trio then went to the block and took steps to ensure that their identities were concealed.
By then, Nizam was armed with a knife, while Maslan had two. Farhan was unarmed.
At Block 46, they ran towards the victims. Maslan reached them first and started slashing them. Nizam and Farhan stood about 10m away as Maslan continued the attack. They fled after that and boarded a GrabCar to dispose of their shirts and knives in Ang Mo Kio.
The three victims received medical leave of between 18 and 28 days.
The maximum penalty for the offence is 15 years' jail, and offenders are liable to a fine or caning.
Elena Chong
