SINGAPORE: Five men arrested over the slashing incident on Wednesday in Little India that left one man injured were charged in court on Friday (Jul 27).
Singaporeans Victor Alexander Arumugam, Arjun Retnavelu, Haresh Shanmuganathan, Dinesh Kumar Ruvy and Sharvin Raj Suraj, who are aged between 17 and 28, were charged with rioting armed with deadly weapons.
If found guilty, they can be jailed for up to 10 years and caned.
Two other men, also Singaporean, have yet to be charged as investigations against them are ongoing.
READ: 7 men arrested over Serangoon Road slashing incident
The men were accused of being members of an unlawful assembly to cause hurt to Mr Dhines Selvarajah, 26.
Arjun, 23, was allegedly armed with a chopper and a baton, while Dinesh, 28, had a parang.
Haresh, 22, is said to have punched the victim, while Sharvin, the youngest at 17, allegedly attacked him with a baton.
Victor, 24, has another pending case – he faces a charge of affray for fighting with another man near Lucky Plaza in April.
All men will be back in court next month.
The accused suspects in the Serangoon slashing case arriving at the State Courts on Friday (Jul 27) in a police van. They are to be charged with the offence of rioting armed with deadly weapons. (Photo: TODAY)
All seven suspects were arrested by the police in the vicinity of Corporation Road and Sin Ming Industrial Estate on Thursday, within 18 hours of the report being lodged.
The incident, which took place at 202 Serangoon Road at about 2.20pm, is believed to have occurred over a personal feud.
The victim was taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with multiple slash wounds on the back of his head, body, hands and legs.
The suspects allegedly attacked him with a kitchen knife and a samurai sword before fleeing in a car.
On Thursday, one of the suspects was taken to Lower Peirce Reservoir by the police to indicate where he had allegedly thrown the samurai sword in the water. The search by commercial divers was called off after four hours as the light was fading.
Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam on Friday called the attack “horrific”, and praised the police for their speed in finding the suspects.
“Police arrested suspects within 18 hours,” said the minister in a Facebook post. “Really good work by the police to have found the suspects so quickly.
“The lesson is: In Singapore, the police will find the suspects, and find them quickly.”
