A tragic brawl outside a club on Orchard Road resulted in the death of a man, and his friend faces multiple charges.
On August 20, 2023, a fatal brawl unfolded outside the Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall along Orchard Road in Singapore, which led to the death of 29-year-old Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail. Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman, his 31-year-old friend, has since pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the incident.
The altercation started when Shahrulnizam and Mr. Isrrat, both associated with a secret society, were at Club Rumours. At around 4:30 AM, they met for drinks, but shortly after, a group of rival secret society members arrived at the club. This group was denied entry due to their involvement in a previous violent incident at the club. Noticing the tension, Shahrulnizam armed himself and his friend in case trouble escalated. He asked for a small knife from former colleagues, which he later passed to Mr. Isrrat while concealing a bread knife on himself.
As the club closed at around 6:00 AM, Mr. Isrrat started an argument with the rival group, which led to a physical confrontation. Shahrulnizam and Mr. Isrrat attempted to flee the scene but were pursued by the rival members. In the ensuing fight, Shahrulnizam used the bread knife to injure several of the attackers, but as Mr. Isrrat ran back to the hotel, he fell to the ground, and the small knife Shahrulnizam had passed to him was dropped. One of the rival group members, Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, took the knife and fatally stabbed Mr. Isrrat multiple times.
Despite efforts to revive him, Mr. Isrrat was pronounced dead upon arrival at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The case of Asvain, who has been charged with murder, is still ongoing. Shahrulnizam turned himself in to the police a day after the incident.
In court, Shahrulnizam was charged with two counts of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon and one count of abetting the possession of an offensive weapon. He has also been linked to past rioting offenses. The prosecution recommended a sentence of 35 to 39 months in jail along with 12 strokes of the cane.
Shahrulnizam’s defense lawyer, S.S. Dhillon, argued that his client’s actions were in self-defense against the group’s “murderous intent.” However, the prosecutor emphasized that Shahrulnizam’s decision to arm himself and his friend played a pivotal role in the tragic outcome, as the weapon was directly linked to the victim’s death. The sentencing will take place on December 4, 2024.
In a related case, more than 10 individuals have been brought to court for their involvement in the brawl. Sharvin Jay Nair, one of the attackers, was sentenced to over 12 months in prison for his role in injuring Mr. Isrrat.
