Singaporean man jailed and fined for rioting and attacking people with baton

Man attacked compatriot
Man attacked compatriot by using weapon (Representational picture) Reuters

Pong Jia Rong Kenji, a 22-year-old Singaporean man has been sentenced to three years in jail and nine strokes with cane along with S$5,100 fine for committing multifarious offenses in multiple incidents where he attacked victims with weapons including a teaser and baton.

Pong Jia Rong Kenji was pleaded guilty on Monday to nine charges including rioting, voluntarily causing injuries to people with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of dangerous weapon and driving without a valid license. The court also considered another 10 similar charges into consideration before pronouncing the judgment.

The court also disqualified him from holding a driving license for 12 months.

During the hearing, the prosecution revealed that on one incident of crime, Pong and his group of 10 people locked horns with another group in the early hours of Sep 1, 2016, near the St James Power Station. Before the attack, Pong asked one of the victims 22-year-old Capone Valerio Nicodemo about his gang. As the victim replied Pong that it was not his concern, he and his gang attacked Valerio.

Another victim Ng Tai Rong, a 22-year-old man was also punched and kicked by a traffic cone during the incident.

As Ng Tai Rong fell down on the ground with heavy bleeding, the group started to disperse, and soon the police arrived on the scene. In the meantime, Pong fled the scene.

In another similar incident, Pong and his group attacked Ngiam Hai Jun Eugene, a 19-year-old man along Cuscaden Road on May 7, 2017. A woman saw the attack, and she tried shooting the incident in her camera. Seeing this, Pong and his group attacked the woman too. Two other eyewitnesses were also attacked when they tried to call the police. However, the prosecution did not reveal the exact reason behind the attack.

Pong soon fled the scene, but he was later arrested on May 19, 2017.

For rioting, Pong could have been jailed up to seven years and caned. As per Singaporean law, voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon could fetch punishment including seven years imprisonment, fine and caning.

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