Man linked to fatal Orchard Road brawl gets jail, caning for rioting

After partying at an Orchard Road club, a secret society member and other men – referred to in court documents as the "rioting group" – got into a dispute with one of the nightspot's former bouncers and rained blows on him.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

During the brawl on Aug 20, 2023, gang member Sijesh Asogan punched and kicked Mr Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail, 29, at three separate locations near Club Rumours, located in Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall.

According to the prosecution, another member of the rioting group, Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, then aged 30, picked up a knife that Mr Isrrat had dropped and stabbed him repeatedly with it.

An ambulance rushed Mr Isrrat to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at around 7am.

On May 7, Sijesh, 27, who is a Singaporean, was sentenced to 2½ years' jail and four strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a rioting charge.

Asvain was earlier handed a murder charge and his case is pending.

Multiple men linked to the case were earlier given jail sentences. Among them were Sridharan Elangovan, then 30, and Manojkumar Velayanatham, then 32, from the rioting group.

Other men who used to work for Club Rumours, including Zurfaqar Musli, then 34; Mohamad Zachary Danial Mohamad Azhar, then 23; and Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman, then 31, were also dealt with in court earlier.