Man gets 15 years' jail for role in fatal attack on rival | The New Paper
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Man gets 15 years' jail for role in fatal attack on rival

This article is more than 12 months old

A man who was involved in a fatal attack on a rival seller of illegal cigarettes has been sentenced to 15 years' jail and 15 strokes of the cane.

Bangladeshi Miya Manik, who was earlier acquitted of Mr Munshi Abdur Rahim's murder, was yesterday sentenced for causing grievous hurt to the 32-year-old.

During the 11-day trial which started in January this year, the High Court heard that Manik, 31, was a member of a contraband cigarette syndicate in Singapore.

Prior to the attack, his team had been vying with Mr Rahim's faction for control of a field in Tuas South Avenue 1, which was generating the highest sales volume in the area.

On Sept 24, 2016, Manik and at least three others armed themselves with choppers and wooden poles in preparation for a showdown with Mr Rahim's syndicate.

During the ensuing confrontation, he and two accomplices chased Mr Rahim and hit the Bangladeshi with choppers when he fell.

BLED TO DEATH

The attack lasted less than nine seconds but left Mr Rahim with a wound on his leg that caused him to bleed to death.

At the end of the trial, the High Court ruled that the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Manik had inflicted the fatal injury.

It also noted that witnesses had testified that the plan was not to kill Mr Rahim.

Yesterday, Manik's lawyer Chooi Jing Yen said that while the incident was a "planned confrontation" on both sides, his client had not initially set out to cause grievous hurt to Mr Rahim.

The intention to hurt him was only formed "more or less on the spot" during the confrontation.

Mr Chooi added that Mr Rahim was not a "particularly vulnerable victim", but noted that Manik, who was a construction worker here, was genuinely remorseful and had cooperated with the police in their investigations.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Kumaresan Gohulabalan, Andre Chong and Grace Chua argued that it was a "one-sided" attack.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon, Manik could have been sentenced to life imprisonment. - THE STRAITS TIMES

COURT & CRIME