17-3-2024 (SINGAPORE) A man has been sentenced to three years and seven months in prison, along with ten strokes of the cane, on Friday (March 15th), following his involvement in a violent altercation where a woman’s hair was pulled and a man was stabbed with a harpoon.
The incident took place on June 4th, 2022, at around 4:20 am. The defendant, identified as Se Ren, aged 24, allegedly stabbed a 24-year-old victim with a harpoon-style knife at a nightclub on the sixth floor of Ming Yuan along Casuarina Road in the Orchard Road area.
Se Ren pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon and one count of contravening the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act. According to reports, before the incident, the defendant had informed a friend to bring a weapon, suggesting that altercations occasionally occur at the nightclub.
At around 11:30 pm on the night of the incident, Se Ren hailed a taxi and picked up his friend en route. The friend handed over the harpoon to Se Ren while they were in the vehicle. They arrived at the nightclub around 12:30 am and consumed two bottles of whisky. Around 4:20 am, Se Ren witnessed the victim arguing with a woman and pulling her hair. The woman was later identified as the victim’s sister.
This commotion caught Se Ren’s attention, prompting him to intervene and ask the victim to stop. However, the victim continued to approach Se Ren provocatively. Se Ren then struck the victim on the head. In response, the victim challenged Se Ren to a fight, which led to Se Ren kicking the victim. Subsequently, both parties left the nightclub, but the victim persisted in provoking Se Ren, further angering him.
As the victim retreated towards the elevator, Se Ren attempted to stab him with the harpoon but was unsuccessful. In the chaos, Se Ren saw an opportunity as the victim turned his back, and he thrust the harpoon into him.
The prosecution highlighted Se Ren’s previous similar offense in 2018 and emphasized that the incident occurred while he was intoxicated, calling for a harsher penalty.
