Orchard Road fatal brawl: Over 8 months’ jail, caning for bouncer who handed knife to accomplice

SINGAPORE – A man who handed a bread knife to his alleged accomplice and later disposed of evidence in a fatal Orchard Road brawl was sentenced to eight months and six weeks’ jail and six strokes of the cane.

Mohamad Zachary Danial Mohamad Azhar, 23, pleaded guilty on Nov 13 to one charge of abetting the possession of an offensive weapon and another charge of causing evidence to disappear.

The

fight outside Concorde Hotel

on Aug 20, 2023, saw the death of Mr Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail, who suffered multiple injuries and died in hospital on the same day.

More than 10 people have been charged over their alleged involvement in the brawl, including Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, 29, who is

facing a murder charge

for allegedly killing Mr Isrrat.

In the case of Zachary, Deputy Public Prosecutor Brian Tan said that at the time of his offences, he was working as a bouncer at Club Rumours at Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall in Orchard Road.

At around 4am, the chief bouncer of the club saw members of a secret society at the club and told Zachary to get knives from a locker. The knives were for bouncers’ use in case of any attacks.

The locker held two bread knives with 30cm-long blades and a 33cm-long watermelon knife.

At around 4.55am, he handed one of the bread knives to former Club Rumours bouncer Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman, referred to in court documents as Nizam.

Nizam had gone to the club with Mr Isrrat, who wanted to pass his wedding invitations to the staff there.

At around 5.50am, a dispute arose between the pair and the secret society members.

Pushing and shoving ensued near a taxi stand outside Concorde Hotel, where Nizam slashed several secret society members using the bread knife that Zachary had handed to him.

Mr Isrrat and Nizam then ran back into hotel as the secret society members chased them.

Zachary later saw Mr Isrrat lying on the ground in a pool of blood and clutching the left side of his torso. While other Club Rumours staff members stayed with Mr Isrrat, Zachary returned to the club.

There, another bouncer told Zachary that he had found a bread knife in an alley outside Club Rumours and that he had hidden it in the locker.

DPP Tan said Zachary believed that this was the knife that he had passed to Nizam, so he took home this knife and the other two knives he had taken from the locker.

A Club Rumours employee later called to tell him to hand over the bread knife that Nizam had used to the police.

Zachary returned to the club and surrendered the knife to the police.

Seeking a sentence of 10 to 12 months’ jail and six strokes of the cane, DPP Tan said Zachary’s culpability and his potential impediment to justice were high.

“The accused had earlier witnessed Nizam using the knife to slash other persons and observed that it was bloodstained. Despite this, he had knowingly and wilfully partaken in disposing of a key piece of evidence used in the commission of the offence,” said the prosecutor.

“It is only fortuitous that the police were able to quickly identify the accused in retrieving the knife back.”

Nizam, who faces five charges, including causing grievous hurt, is expected to plead guilty on Nov 22.