Murder of Sulaiman bin Hashim

On the early morning of 31 May 2001, 17-year-old national football player Sulaiman bin Hashim (4 June 1983 – 31 May 2001), along with his two friends were attacked by a group of eight youths from gang 369, known as Salakau, as they were walking along South Bridge Road, Clarke Quay, Singapore. Sulaiman was assaulted by the gang while his two friends managed to escape. During the assault, Sulaiman sustained 13 stab wounds and two of them were fatal; he died as a result. The case was classified as murder[2] and within the next 13 months, six of the gang members involved were arrested and eventually sentenced to jail and caning for culpable homicide, rioting and voluntarily causing grievous hurt. However, till today, the remaining two assailants were never caught.

Murder of Sulaiman bin Hashim (also known as Clarke Quay Gang Homicide)[1]
Date31 May 2001 (2001-05-31)
Participants
  • Norhisham bin Mohamad Dahlan (the gang leader of Salakau), 21
  • Muhammad Syamsul Ariffin bin Brahim, 18 (still at large)
  • Sharulhawzi bin Ramly, age unknown (still at large)
  • Muhamad Hasik bin Sahar, 21
  • Fazely bin Rahmat, 20
  • Khairul Famy bin Mohamed Samsudin, 19
  • Mohammad Ridzwan bin Samad, 20
  • Mohammad Fahmi bin Abdul Shukor, 18

The act

On the night of 30 May 2001, members of Salakau gang gathered at a discotheque at Mohamed Sultan Road to celebrate the 18-year-old birthday of a fellow member, Muhammad Syamsul Ariffin bin Brahim. After doing so, they went for snacks and drinks at a coffee shop nearby River Valley Road at 3 am on 31 May 2001. Later, the gang decided to launch a surprise attack on the rivalling 303 (Sakongsa) gang members roaming around Boat Quay. In the meantime, 17-year-old national youth football player and ITE student Sulaiman bin Hashim was walking along South Bridge Road with his two friends and soccer players Muhammad Shariff bin Abdul Samat[3] and Mohamed Imran bin Mohamed Ali, both aged 17, to City Hall MRT station. It was then the Salakau gang members had spotted them while they were walking on the other side of the road to look for rival gang members. Led by 21-year-old Norhisham bin Mohamad Dahlan, the Salakau gang members crossed the road, approaching the three boys from behind.

Norhisham then asked the three boys (having noticed the presence of the gang from behind) in Malay which gang do they belong to. However, before they could reply, Norhisham proceeded to punch one of the boys, Sulaiman, and assaulted him together with the other 7 gang members in front of several witnesses. Shariff was also briefly attacked and stabbed on the back, but he managed to escape together with Imran. They both reached the nearest police station to seek help. By the time help arrived, Sulaiman, who has been severely assaulted by the gang, was found lying unconscious outside a pub with a total of 13 stab wounds on his neck, legs, shoulders, chest and head, as well as severe head injuries and bruises on his body. Sulaiman was pronounced dead at 5 am in Singapore General Hospital.[4] An autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr Paul Chui revealed that it was the two stab wounds - one to his neck, and the other to his chest - that killed Sulaiman.[5] The victim Sulaiman and his two friends who were ambushed did not belong to any gang. Sulaiman was the third child out of seven siblings in his family. Shariff was hospitalised for his injury and he survived; he would later on, together with Imran, became the prosecution's key witnesses against the gang members accused of Sulaiman's murder.[6][5][7]

Initial arrests and sentences

First four arrests of Salakau gang members

Following the footballer's murder, police investigations were conducted and the police soon established the identities of the eight youths. Within a month after the incident, four of the Salakau secret society members were arrested by the police. On 15 June 2001, 21-year-old Muhamad Hasik bin Sahar became the first gang member to be arrested.[8] 10 days later, on 25 June 2001, three more youths - 20-year-old Fazely bin Rahmat, 20-year-old Mohammad Ridzwan bin Samad and 18-year-old Mohammad Fahmi bin Abdul Shukor - were arrested for their involvement in the murder.[9] They were all charged with murder, which carries the mandatory death penalty.[10][11][12] However, four other gang members of Salakau, consisting of Norhisham, Syamsul Ariffin and two other youths, 19-year-old Khairul Famy bin Mohamed Samsudin and Sharulhawzi bin Ramly (also spelt Sharulhawazi bin Ramy in some sources), whose age was unspecified, had fled Singapore and they were wanted by the police.

Khairul's arrest

On 11 September 2001, after spending 3 months on the run, Khairul was arrested in Batam, Indonesia by the Indonesian police. He was extradited back to Singapore on the same day itself, and after his return to Singapore, Khairul became the fifth gang member of Salakau to be charged with murder together with Hasik, Fazely, Fahmi and Ridzwan. The remaining three suspects were believed to be hiding in Malaysia.

Fahmi and Ridzwan's sentences

Later on, the charges against two of the five gang members, Fahmi and Ridzwan, were amended to lesser charges of rioting and for abetting their fellow Salakau gang members to riot under section 147 of the Penal Code. The pair, who were tasked to look for rival gang members whom they intended to attack on the day of Sulaiman's murder, pleaded guilty to the amended charges and they were being dealt with in the Subordinate Courts; on 22 November 2001, Fahmi and Ridzwan were each sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment and 6 strokes of the cane for their roles in the fatal attack of Sulaiman.[13]

Reduction of Hasik's murder charge: Hasik's sentence

Following the sentencing and incarceration of Fahmi and Ridzwan, the murder charge against Hasik was later amended to a lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (or manslaughter), and he pleaded guilty to the amended charge. On 9 May 2002, Hasik was sentenced to life imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane by then-Judicial Commissioner (JC) Tay Yong Kwang; the life sentence was backdated to the date of Hasik's arrest. When he was 16, Hasik was once charged with and convicted of causing hurt with dangerous weapons, and sentenced to reformative training in 1996. When delivering his verdict, having made reference to Hasik's criminal records, JC Tay felt that Hasik has not learnt his lesson even after his previous experience in court, and now that he has committed a crime of greater violence and an innocent life has been lost as a result, which compelled the judge into committing Hasik to life imprisonment. In his words, JC Tay reiterated in his judgement as he ordered Hasik to be locked away for life, "Those who feel victorious in being vicious and who have no qualms about the annual celebration of one's birth culminating in the untimely death of another will have to spend all subsequent birthdays within prison walls until such time as they are eligible for parole."[14][15] Hasik was said to have broke into tears as he heard the sentence being passed.[16] He later filed an appeal against the life sentence, but it was turned down by the Court of Appeal on 27 August 2002.[17]

The reduction of Hasik's charge, as well as those of Fahmi and Ridzwan, left both Fazely and Khairul the sole two members to stand trial for murder; they chose to plead not guilty. If found guilty of murder, Fazely and Khairul would be sentenced to death.

Murder trial of Fazely and Khairul

The trial of Fazely and Khairul began on 8 May 2002. Fazely was represented by lawyers B. J. Lean and Amarick Gill Singh, while Khairul was represented by veteran lawyer Subhas Anandan (1947–2015) and another lawyer, Anand Nalachandran. The case was heard before then-Judicial Commissioner (JC) Choo Han Teck in the High Court.

Both the boys, in their defence, stated they did not have the intention to murder Sulaiman, and that they only tagged along, thinking that the gang's intention was to go beat up rival gang members like they usually did and that they had never used weapons during their previous fights, claiming that they were not aware until the attack that their leader Norhisham and two others, Syamsul Ariffin and Sharulhawzi were armed with knifes (they were the ones who stabbed Sulaiman during the attack). Their defence was countered by the prosecution, consisting of Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ng Cheng Thiam and DPP Imran Abdul Hamid, who sought to dispute their defences and argued that they in fact had the knowledge that some of their fellow gang members were armed.

On 8 July 2002, at the end of the trial, JC Choo acquitted both boys of murder, and instead, he found both Fazely and Khairul guilty of rioting under section 147 of the Penal Code and sentenced them to 5 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane each. In his judgement, JC Choo determined that the common intention of the gang was to find rival gang members and beat them up, and that not all the gang members were armed. He also stated he was not convinced that the boys had indeed seen the others using knives to stab Sulaiman, or even if the boys carried on assaulting the victim after he was stabbed, that they had the intention to cause death or cause grievous hurt with dangerous weapons.[18][19] In his words, JC Choo reiterated in his judgement as he passed the sentence on both Fazely and Khairul, "In cases such as this where a young and innocent life is senselessly slain, the retribution of the law must be inflicted swiftly and firmly but, appropriately, as against the diverse offenders and the diverse nature of their crime."[20]

The prosecution appealed against the acquittal of the two boys but the Court of Appeal agreed with and upheld JC Choo's decision to acquit the two boys of murder and dismissed the prosecution's appeal; however, the three Judges of Appeal are of the opinion that both Fazely and Khairul had committed a more serious crime of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Sulaiman based on their review of the other physical injuries found on the victim and thus, they convicted both boys of that particular crime and increased each of their sentences to 7 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.[21][22]

Norhisham's arrest

On 30 June 2002, a little more than a year after Sulaiman's death, Norhisham was arrested in Malaysia and extradited back to Singapore to stand trial for causing Sulaiman's death.[23]

Initially charged with murder, Norhisham later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. On 25 July 2003, despite the urgings of the prosecution for Norhisham to be imprisoned for life and to receive 24 strokes of the cane, Justice Woo Bih Li instead sentenced Norhisham to 10 years' imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane,[24][25] on the basis that despite his greater culpability as compared to that of Hasik; who was convicted of the same offence (Norhisham used a knife to stab Sulaiman while Hasik was not armed, making Norhisham playing a more deadlier role than Hasik for causing Sulaiman's death), Norhisham, in contrast to Hasik (who was previously convicted for a violent offence, as mentioned above), did not have any previous convictions for violent offences in his criminal records (he was previously convicted of theft of motor vehicles and drug consumption). Due to this, Justice Woo stated that he felt the gang leader should not be treated akin to one previously convicted of a violent offence (referring to Hasik, who had a violent antecedent to his name).

For this, Justice Woo felt it would be inappropriate to impose a life term on Norhisham and thus he sentenced Norhisham to the next highest punishment of 10 years' imprisonment, in addition to 16 strokes of the cane.[26] The prosecution's appeal for Norhisham to be sentenced to life imprisonment was later dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 23 September 2003.[27][28]

Sentences

The following were the convictions and sentences received by the gang members of Salakau (except for the two absconded gang members Syamsul Ariffin and Sharulhawzi) for their part in Sulaiman's death, sequentially from the heaviest to the lightest sentence:

  • Muhamad Hasik bin Sahar, 21: convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, sentenced to life imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane.
  • Norhisham bin Mohamad Dahlan, 21 (the gang leader): convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane.
  • Fazely bin Rahmat, 20: initially sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for rioting by the High Court. Later convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, and sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane by the Court of Appeal.
  • Khairul Famy bin Mohamed Samsudin, 19: initially sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for rioting by the High Court. Later convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt, and sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane by the Court of Appeal.
  • Mohammad Fahmi bin Abdul Shukor, 18: convicted of rioting, sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment and 6 strokes of the cane.
  • Mohammad Ridzwan bin Samad, 20: convicted of rioting, sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment and 6 strokes of the cane.
  • Muhammad Syamsul Ariffin bin Brahim, 18: NIL (on the run since 31 May 2001)
  • Sharulhawzi bin Ramly, age unknown: NIL (on the run since 31 May 2001)

Aftermath

The case was re-enacted in a Singaporean crime show True Files. It aired as the final episode of the show's fourth season on 25 June 2006, depicting the case and placing its focus especially on the court proceedings against both Fazely and Khairul for murder. The 5-season crime show (consisting of 62 episodes) is available on meWATCH (previously named Toggle) from 5 February 2016 onwards, and is currently viewable on the website.[5]

After the incident, according to Khairul's lawyer Subhas Anandan, who was interviewed in the episode, he revealed that Khairul had expressed remorse over the incident, and confided to Mr Anandan that he was feeling sad and sorry for the victim Sulaiman for his death and for mistaking him as a member of a rival gang, but it was too late for him to regret.

It was reported that Sulaiman's death was a big loss and tragedy to the National U-18 squad (Sulaiman's football team), as well as his fellow team players and friends; they all held Sulaiman's future with high regard due to the victim's talent and skills.[29] The Football Association of Singapore and NTUC Income also reportedly donated $20,000 out of goodwill to Sulaiman's family and offered condolences to the bereaved family, hoping that this gesture will further encourage Sulaiman's two younger brothers (also national soccer players) to continue playing the sport.[30]

As of August 2020, with the exception of Hasik, the other gang members who were jailed for their part in Sulaiman's death are presumably released from prison after serving out their respective sentences. Hasik is still in prison serving his life sentence; he will probably be spending the rest of his natural life behind bars, unless he is paroled when he gains eligibility for parole upon the review of his conduct after serving at least 20 years of his life sentence. Syamsul Ariffin and Sharulhawzi are still on the run.

References
  1. "Most Daring Crimes in Singapore: Clarke Quay Gang Homicide". YouTube. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  2. "Footballer found murdered". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. "Geylang's Shariff jailed for attack on relative". The New Paper. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  4. "Footballer beaten to death". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  5. "True Files S4". meWATCH. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  6. "Stabbed, Samad's son: It hurts too much". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  7. "Attack on footballer 'unprovoked'". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  8. "Soccer player's death: Man held". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. "Three more arresed over player's murder". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  10. "Unemployed man first to be charged". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  11. "TWO CHARGED WITH FOOTBALLER MURDER". National Library Board. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  12. "Footballer's murder: 4th man charged". National Library Board. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  13. "Judicial caning in Singapore, November 2001". Corpun. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  14. "Life term for killer". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  15. "Public Prosecutor v Muhamad Hasik bin Sahar" (PDF). Supreme Court Judgements. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  16. "Judicial caning, Singapore". Corpun. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  17. "Life term for soccer player's death upheld". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  18. "Judicial caning in Singapore, July 2002". Corpun. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  19. "Gangsters cleared of murder, jailed for rioting". Blogger. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  20. "Public Prosecutor Fazely bin Rahmat and Another" (PDF). Supreme Court Judgements. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  21. "SOCCER PLAYER'S DEATH: TEENS JAILED". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  22. "Public Prosecutor v Fazely bin Rahmat and Another and Another case" (PDF). Singapore Law Watch. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  23. "Caught: Alleged leader of death stabbing". Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  24. "Man jailed for killing national soccer player". The Star. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  25. "6th youth gets jail, caning for knife attack". Free Republic. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  26. "Public Prosecutor v Norhisham bin Mohamad Dahlan" (PDF). Supreme Court Judgements. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  27. "Public Prosecutor v Norhisham bin Mohamad Dahlan" (PDF). Supreme Court Judgements. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  28. "Can't be tougher". National Library Board. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  29. "What a waste". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  30. "Footballer's family gets a NTUC Income boost". National Library Board. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
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