Man gets jail, cane and driving ban for multiple offences
Angry that he had been questioned by a man for calling out "Oi Oi" to his girlfriend, an odd-job worker attacked the man with a chopper early one morning at Orchard Towers.
The attack caused the victim to suffer cuts on his hands and head.
Muhammad Farouq Mohamed Allaadin Ebrahim Elsayd saw Mr Mohammad Haikal Hamzah, then 26, and his girlfriend, Ms Nurul Hidayatullah Mohamed Ali, then 23, at the Orchard Road building at about 4am on Oct 16, 2015.
He was in his friend's car, which was being parked when he alighted and approached Mr Haikal at the lift lobby.
Farouq shouted at and abused the victim, who said he did not know him and asked what he wanted. Farouq replied: "You ask me who I am? You will know who I am."
Farouq then flipped up his jacket and drew out a 30cm-long chopper from his pants. He swung the weapon repeatedly at the victim, and also struck him on the back of his head. Mr Haikal used his hands to defend himself and was injured as a result.
Farouq eventually stopped and fled by the back door of the building. He got back into his friend's car and asked him to drive off.
Farouq alighted at The Heeren building along Orchard Road and threw away his blood-stained hoodie and chopper.
According to Farouq, he got to know Ms Nurul, a waitress at Tri-Amp Acoustic, a club in Foch Road that he frequented. He had met Mr Haikal only once when the victim came to take Ms Nurul home from the club.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Star Chen said: "The accused stated that he felt angry towards the victim after that previous occasion because the victim had questioned the accused when he called out 'Oi Oi' to Ms Nurul."
Mr Haikal was hospitalised for two days and given hospitalisation leave until Nov 24, 2015. For two months after the incident, he said he needed help to eat, shower or do things that required his hands. He also had to stop work as an Uber driver then. He has largely recovered but is still unable to flex his left middle finger and right thumb.
Five days after the incident, Farouq was driving a rented car when he failed to obey a police road-block signal along Kitchener Road at about 3am.
Farouq, who did not have a licence as he had been banned from driving by a court for one year, stopped some 30m away from the road block and reversed his car. He turned into King George's Avenue and drove along Horne Road, Tyrwhitt Road, Beatty Lane and Foch Road in a rash manner, pursued by a police car.
Farouq drove some 6km before he was involved in a collision along Woodsville Tunnel. He alighted and fled on foot. Police later found a knife inside a black cover on a floor mat on the driver's side of the car.
Farouq admitted that he drove away from the police road block to evade arrest because he knew that he did not have a valid licence. Furthermore, he also had a weapon in the car.
On Tuesday (Aug 1), Farouq, 29, was sentenced to 10 years' jail, 14 strokes of the cane and banned from driving for four years after he admitted to 14 charges.
The offences he pleaded guilty to include drug trafficking, drug consumption and possession, driving-related offences, and providing false information to the police.
Lawyer Alice Tan, assigned to him under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, said Farouq has vowed to turn over a new leaf, and he will be under the care of his auntie and her family after his release. She said her client lost his mother to cancer last month (July).
District Judge Jasvender Kaur backdated his sentence to Oct 1, 2016.
Twenty-four other charges were considered in sentencing.
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