Jail for man who ganged up with others to attack teen and scald him with hot water

SINGAPORE - A man was under a remission order after committing an earlier drug-related offence when he ganged up with others in a hotel room to attack a 19-year-old man with special needs.

Between Jan 17 and 25, 2022, Muhammad Shahfakhry Mohamad Faizal committed acts such as punching and kicking the teenager, hitting him with a dustpan and pouring hot water on him.

The victim, who was later found in critical condition, was taken to hospital where he was warded for about 10 days.

On Monday, Shahfakhry, 22, was sentenced to 5½ years’ jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts each of assault and drug-related offences. Seven other charges were considered during sentencing.

He must also spend an additional 17 days behind bars, as he committed his latest offences while he was under the remission order.

The prosecution said Shahfakhry had been convicted of methamphetamine consumption on Feb 3, 2021, and was sentenced to a year in jail.

He was later released and placed on a remission order from Oct 5, 2021, to Feb 2, 2022, during which he was supposed to keep himself out of trouble.

Despite this, he continued to consume the drug, and ganged up with his accomplices to attack the victim.

Shahfakhry was the third person linked to the teenager’s torment to be dealt with in court.

On Sept 14, 2022, Putri Nuramira Aishah Rosli, then 20, was sentenced to at least a year of reformative training.

And in July, a teenage girl was sentenced to at least a year of reformative training. She cannot be named because she was only 16 at the time of her offences. Those below 18 are covered under the Children and Young Persons Act. She was referred to as A2 in court documents.

The case involving a fourth person – a 17-year-old girl – is pending. The teenager, who earlier had a warrant of arrest issued against her after she failed to turn up in court, is now in remand. Court documents referred to her as A1.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap said that on Jan 15, 2022, Shahfakhry, Putri and A2 were in a room at Arton Boutique Hotel in Tyrwhitt Road to consume drugs.

The victim later joined the trio in the room and started staying over two days later.

That day, Shahfakhry and A2 began assaulting the victim, while A1 recorded one of the incidents.

According to the defence, Shahfakhry’s accomplices claimed that the victim had made advances towards them.

Two days later, A1 boiled some water in a kettle.

DPP Yap told the court: “She then pointed towards the victim... gesturing to Shahfakhry to pour the hot water on the victim. Shahfakhry then took the kettle containing hot water and poured the water on the victim’s head and back in (her) presence.”

The victim was subjected to multiple acts of abuse by his tormentors, including Shahfakhry, from Jan 17 to 25, 2022.

On Jan 23 last year, the victim’s sister saw a social media post that had a picture of a badly injured person who appeared to be her brother. She alerted the police two days later.

Meanwhile, Shahfakhry, Putri and A2 finally stopped hitting the victim when they saw that he was in a bad state. They then bought medicine and bandages to treat his wounds.

Following an investigation, the police found the victim in the hotel room with three of his attackers on Jan 26 last year.

He was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he was found with injuries including facial fractures, burns and slash wounds.

Officers then arrested Shahfakhry, Putri and A2. A packet of crystalline substance, later found to contain methamphetamine, was found in Shahfakhry’s possession.

He also provided his urine samples to the authorities, and they were also found to contain traces of the drug.

Officers arrested A1 on Jan 27, 2022.