Gang leader
gets 18 years' jail for two killings
By Alethea Lim
Court Correspondent
AT 16, Balachandran Bernard became the section head of the '369'
secret society.
For giving the go-ahead, Balachandran bore responsibility for the
assaults. --WONG KWAI CHOW
The middle child in a family of three boys, he assumed the top
position in the gang's Teban Gardens area after the then section
head was sent to jail.
Balachandran, who was educated only up to Primary 5, had been
recruited into the gang three years earlier.
His new position included reporting the group's activities to the
gang's main leader. He also became a mentor for those members who
went to him for help.
A year after his release, , he ordered two separate attacks which
resulted in two men being killed and a third being injured
seriously.
Yesterday, Balachandran, now 20, was sentenced to 18 years' jail
and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane.
He had on Tuesday pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter
while being part of an unlawful assembly and one charge of causing
grievous hurt with dangerous weapons while part of a gang.
His lawyer, Mr S.S. Dhillon, said the youth never laid a finger on
the two men whom his gang battered to death. Balachandran had only
participated in the assault on Mr Nasir Din Meera Sahib, 37.
But Judicial Commissioner Woo Bih Li disagreed and said that 'the
person who gave the go-ahead is no less responsible than the
attackers' and should bear primary responsibility for the
assaults.
The first attack happened at East Coast Park , where the gang
assaulted Mr Hamzir Hamin, 41, using wooden poles and metal rods.
Mr Hamzir died in hospital from multiple head injuries four days
later.
On Oct 15, the gang set upon Mr Nasir Din and his friend, Mr Roslan
Mohamed, 31, with parangs. The pair were at a pub in City Plaza in
Geylang Road celebrating Mr Roslan's birthday.
Mr Roslan died at the scene from a neck wound while his friend
received 50 slashes and spent 15 days in hospital with injuries to
his arms, back, neck, scalp and chest.
The attacks on both occasions were unprovoked.
Balachandran went on the run but was arrested last July in Johor
Baru.
In a statement read out in court, victim Nasir Din said: 'They
slashed me a few times on my back. I was bleeding all over my
body.'
When he collapsed, the gang continued slashing him. 'I thought I
was going to die,' recalled the father of two children, aged 13 and
six months.
Mr Nasir Din stopped work because of his injuries. He has already
spent about $30,000 on his medical bills.
'I have to live with the ordeal of losing a good friend and being a
burden to my family. I will never forget this terrifying incident
for the rest of my life,' he said.
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