SINGAPORE, May 27 — Suspecting that his girlfriend was cheating on him, Fazli Hisham Mohd Fairuz Shah got into a dispute with the other man, Mohammad Raihan Mohd Rizal, before accidentally punching Raihan’s mother.
Her other sons heard about what had happened and went to confront Fazli, before the group began physically fighting with each other.
On Thursday (May 26), Raihan’s brothers — Mohammad Rezwan Mohd Faizal, 23, and Muhammad Farhan Safari, 28 — were sentenced to short-detention orders of 14 days and 10 days respectively.
Offenders who receive this community-based sentence will have to serve time behind bars for up to two weeks, but they will have no criminal record when released.
Both men pleaded guilty to one charge each of voluntarily causing hurt to Fazli, 30.
A few months before the assault, Fazli, a former Singapore Airlines pilot, was fined S$3,000 (RM9,600) for a separate offence of breaching the Official Secrets Act by forwarding a photograph of a dead domestic helper to a WhatsApp chat group.
Fazli had received the photo from his girlfriend Nurizzah Afiqah Hussain, who worked as a paramedic and was at the scene of the death. Nurizzah was also fined S$3,000.
In the present case, Fazli suspected that Nurizzah was cheating on him with Raihan. The three of them, Raihan’s wife, and Raihan’s mother met at Kallang Wave Mall on the afternoon of Jan 11, 2020.
The two men began arguing and Fazli inadvertently punched Raihan’s mother who was trying to separate them.
Farhan and Rezwan, who were home at the time, later learned about this and went over to the mall.
When Fazli appeared to be unapologetic about punching the older woman, Raihan allegedly punched him. Farhan and Rezwan then joined in the attack by raining blows on Fazli’s face and body.
Raihan was also carrying an umbrella but it was unclear whether he used it in the fracas.
When the former pilot fell to the ground, Farhan kicked him while Rezwan struck him with his motorcycle helmet.
Raihan also allegedly kicked Fazli.
Nurizzah used her body to shield her boyfriend from further attacks, while Raihan’s mother and wife also intervened to stop the assault which lasted about 15 seconds and was captured on closed-circuit television footage.
A passerby called the police. When officers arrived, they saw Fazli lying on the ground in a semi-conscious state.
He was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he was found to have sustained a splintered fracture of the nasal bone. He was discharged the next day and given seven days of hospitalisation leave.
Both the prosecution as well as Rezwan’s and Farhan’s defence counsel, Joshua Tan and Josephus Tan from Invictus Law Corporation, sought short-detention orders for them.
The lawyers told the court that both men voluntarily turned themselves in to the police and have strong support from their families. Farhan is Rezwan’s and Raihan’s half-brother from their mother’s first marriage.
Those convicted of voluntarily causing hurt can be jailed for up to two years or fined up to S$5,000, or punished with both.
Raihan has not been dealt with because he moved overseas to work in March 2020. — TODAY
