Orchard Road fatal brawl: Man who punched, kicked victim jailed over 12 months

SINGAPORE - A man linked to the fatal Orchard Road hotel brawl in 2023 was sentenced to more than a year’s jail after pleading guilty to several offences, including punching and kicking another man during the fight.

On June 25, Sharvin Jay Nair, 25, pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to Mr Mohammad Isrrat Mohd Ismail, who died following the brawl at Concorde Hotel & Shopping Mall.

Sharvin also admitted to one charge each of voluntarily causing grievous hurt and voluntarily causing hurt in separate incidents in 2022, and one charge of possessing a stun gun when he was not authorised to do so.

He was sentenced to 12 months and eight weeks’ jail, and fined $2,000 for his offences.

Mr Isrrat suffered multiple injuries during the brawl in the Orchard Road area and was unconscious when taken to hospital, where he died.

To date, more than 10 men have been charged over their alleged involvement in the brawl.

Among them is Asvain Pachan Pillai Sukumaran, 29, who is facing a murder charge for allegedly killing Mr Isrrat. Sharvin is the first to be convicted and sentenced in relation to this case.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu said that on Aug 20, 2023, Sharvin went to Club Rumours at Concorde Hotel & Shopping Mall with a group of friends.

The prosecutor said the group belonged to a secret society called “Ang Soon Tong Jalan Kayu Depot”.

During this time, Mr Isrrat and his friend Muhammad Shahrulnizam Osman arrived at the same club. They were from a secret society called “369 Kallang Airport”, which is a rival to the secret society that Sharvin was in.

Shahrulnizam, 31, faces four charges, including voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.

The DPP said Mr Isrrat, a former bouncer at Club Rumours, was there to distribute his wedding invitation cards to the staff.

At around 6am, as the club began to close and patrons started to leave, Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam shouted vulgarities in Malay aimed at Sharvin’s group.

Sharvin’s group confronted Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam, and Mr Isrrat punched Asvain. Pushing and shoving ensued between both groups as they moved towards the open area in Kramat Lane, behind Concorde Shopping Mall. Sharvin then punched and kicked Mr Isrrat, causing him to fall. Shahrulnizam took out a bread knife he had tucked into his pants and slashed Sharvin’s arm with it. He also slashed others in Sharvin’s group.

Mr Isrrat and Shahrulnizam then ran back into Concorde Shopping Mall, as members of Sharvin’s group chased them.

While Shahrulnizam went back into Club Rumours, several members of Sharvin’s group attacked Mr Isrrat, culminating in Asvain stabbing him multiple times, said the DPP.

The DPP said Sharvin did not follow his group back into Concorde Shopping Mall as his arm was bleeding. He went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and lied that he had been injured in a fall. He was subsequently arrested there.

In her submissions, DPP Chu said that while Sharvin did not take part in the attack in Concorde Shopping Mall during which Mr Isrrat was stabbed, the bruises on the victim’s forearms, neck and head can be attributed to the actions of Sharvin and co-accused.

For his offences, she sought a sentence of 12 to 15 months and nine to 11 weeks’ jail, and a $2,000 to $3,000 fine.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary urged the judge to note that the vulgarities used by Mr Isrrat were “racially charged and highly derogatory”. He added that his client fully cooperated in police investigations and has since dissociated himself from other group members.

Those convicted of voluntarily causing hurt can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to $5,000, or both.