Man who took part in fight at Sim Lim Square fined $5,000

SINGAPORE - A partner of a mobile phone shop was fined $5,000 on Wednesday for being part of an unlawful assembly to cause hurt to a man.

Tan Peng Wong, 27, pleaded guilty to being with Mizuta Teruhito, 29, Lin Guoming, Yeo Yong Hua, both 28, and Gan Guo Rong, 30, who hurt Danial Ryan Salleh, 26, at Million Tech at Sim Lim Square on June 29 this year.

A district court heard that Salleh was detained by a shop assistant at Million Tech for stealing earphones. He put up a struggle and caused a commotion.

Tan, who is a Singapore permanent resident, and Mizuta walked in to observe the commotion.

Salleh turned aggressive towards the shop assistant and challenged him to a fight.

Mizuta recorded the exchange with his mobile phone.

On seeing this, Salleh walked towards Mizuta and threw punches at him. Lin, Yeo and Gan then punched Salleh, and Mizuta joined in.

Salleh fell to the floor and continued being assaulted. His assailants stopped after the shop assistant intervened.

Salleh suffered a bruise on his forearm and bleeding from the nose.

Urging the court for a fine, Tan's lawyer, Mr Peter Fernando, said that his client's role was minimal. The lawyer said Tan merely swung his arms towards Salleh, and the manner in which Tan got involved was extremely spontaneous and exceptionally brief.

Mr Fernando said Salleh posed a serious threat to those present in the shop and clearly provoked the subsequent attack on him by others in the shop.

The lawyer added that his client tried several times to put an end to the fight in a peaceful manner without harming Salleh. This was shown from the CCTV footage which was played in court.

Mizuta has been jailed for one month while the cases against the rest are pending.

The maximum penalty for the offence is two years' jail and a fine.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.