from the newpaper recently:
Stop violence, and gang and crimes in
singapore
Anyone with information on the incidents can call the
police hotline at 1800-2550000.
BLACK ski masks. Long parang knives. Black-shirted men.
The gang attacked and slashed Ash on his head, which required
stitches, as well as his shoulder and back. - Picture: KENNETH
KOH
They looked like they belong in a fight scene in a Hong Kong movie
on triads.
But there they were, at the void deck of Block 13, Eunos Crescent
on Friday night.
And they confronted a group of five friends gathered there.
At first the group of friends were puzzled at the sight of seven
men, who suddenly appeared in front of them.
Then trouble struck.
At around 9pm, the men attacked them with the weapons, causing them
to scatter in different directions.
The attackers split up and chased the victims, slashing them
viciously with the parangs and knives after catching up with them
in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack.
All five victims were later sent to the hospital, where two
received outpatient treatment and three have been hospitalised
since then.
And it was not the only such attack that night.
Over at Tampines at around 8.15pm, an 18-year-old boy was assaulted
and seriously injured. (See report on facing page).
When contacted, police spokesman ASP Stanley Norbert said they are
investigating if both incidents are linked.
SHAKEN
Ahmad (not his real name), 24, was the most seriously injured among
the five at the Eunos attack, suffering slash wounds on both arms
and his head.
The other two, who were also warded, suffered slash wounds on their
hand and stomach respectively.
Still looking shaken from the attack, Ahmad told The New Paper
yesterday at Changi General Hospital (CGH), where he is warded,
that it was an unprovoked attack.
He claimed that he and his group have no enemies nor have they
offended anyone.
That was why when he first saw the armed, masked men, he thought
they were going to attack others, not their group.
Ahmad said: 'I first saw about seven men, who appeared from behind
the walls. They were wearing ski masks and each one was carrying
either a parang or a sword.
'I thought they were looking for others. We had no time to react or
run away at all before they attacked us.'
Ahmad said he and his friends, whose ages range from 17 to 24, fled
in different directions with the assailants in hot pursuit.
Ahmad himself ran to Block 16 where he was pounced upon at the void
deck by two attackers.
He said: 'Then three other men, also wearing ski masks and carrying
parangs, appeared and also started attacking me.'
He tried to protect his head by using his hands to cover it.
'But when I did so, I heard the (hacking) sounds,' he
recounted.
'I knew that the parang had hit me.'
Ahmad then tried to run into a lift.
A middle-aged man was about to exit and was threatened by the
attackers.
Ahmad said: 'They warned him to get out of the way or they would
also chop him.'
The five attackers then tried to force their way into the lift as
Ahmad kept kicking them out.
He succeeded only after one of them told the gang 'enough' in Malay
and they left.
By then, Ahmad's hands were soaked with blood, with bones visible
from the wounds.
'I thought I was going to die,' he said. 'If they had managed to
enter the lift, I think I would have been dead by now.'
Taking the lift to the sixth floor, he sought help from a
household, whose main door was open.
'I told them that I had been attacked by a gang and asked them to
help call for an ambulance.'
The family also helped dress his wounds and gave him drinks.
Ahmad said they also kept talking to him because he told them he
was going to faint. Later, the police and ambulance arrived to take
him to hospital.
Ahmad's elder sister, 33, said she was distraught to see him badly
injured.
She said: 'I don't know why they attacked my brother. He isn't the
sort to mix with bad company.
'I hope the police will step up patrols and also arrest these
people soon.'
Ahmad is now fearful of returning to Eunos Crescent, the
neighbourhood where he had lived for nearly 20 years.
He moved out of the area five years ago, but would return there
almost daily to hang out with his childhood friends. He said his
family had plans to move back there next year because they like the
area so much.
'But now, I'm not so sure.'
One of his injured friends, who is still warded at CGH, said Ahmad
was the worst hit.
Requesting not to be named, he added: 'We do not know who these
guys are and we have never offended anyone before.'
Police spokesman ASP Stanley Norbert said that so far, there have
been no arrests and those injured in both the cases are being
interviewed.
'The two cases are being investigated as rioting armed with
dangerous weapon,' he added.
Those convicted of the offence face a jail term of up to seven
years and caning.
