13 men who allegedly chanted gang slogans, broke safe distancing rules at wake charged
Just before the circuit breaker in April, 13 men had allegedly gathered at a funeral wake, chanting gang slogans as part of a secret society ritual.
Twelve of them were charged in court yesterday with breaching safe distancing measures at the wake along Circuit Road on April 5 at around 1pm.
This was during the control period between March and April, which limited the number of people at some gatherings to no more than 10.
The men also face charges of being members of an unlawful society.
Police investigations revealed that the suspects, aged between 16 and 35, had allegedly chanted gang slogans to show off their secret society affiliation.
They are Alvin Mo Boon Heng, 35, Baey Xin Yu and Don Tham, both 25, Cedric Teo, Eugine Lee Eng Qin, and Kuah Jun Hong Julian, 19, Lim Wei Xuan, 26, Luo Junyuan and Tay Wee Keong, both 24, and Yu Wei Jie, 22.
Two of them cannot be named as they are under 18 years old.
The 13th individual, Ong Teck Wei, 34, faced a similar charge over his involvement at the incident.
Ong did not turn up at the hearing yesterday as he had been arrested for drug-related offences.
The police said in a statement on Tuesday night that four of the men, aged between 19 and 36, had recruited new gang members.
Lim, who is believed to have rented the pavillion for the wake at Block 37 Circuit Road, is accused of breaching safe distancing measures by allowing more than 10 people to gather at the venue.
Some of the men have other charges against them.
Yu is accused of offences involving duty-unpaid cigarettes, while Teo is involved in loan-shark harassment and gang-related activities.
All 13 individuals are expected to be back in court this month and next month.
If convicted of breaching safe distancing measures, they can each be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
If convicted of gang-related activities, each of them can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.
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