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General Kala
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Feb 1, 2011
Jailed for knife attack over loan dispute
By Khushwant Singh
THEY were to meet so that Mohammad Ridwan Rashid, 29, could repay a loan but the assistant storekeeper came armed with a knife instead.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to two years in jail and three strokes of the cane for the armed attack on Muhammad Firzan Abdul Rahman, 25, in August 2010. He was also fined a total of $100,000 on five counts of assisting a loanshark in the business of unlicensed moneylending. If unable to pay the fine, he would have to serve an additional 21/2 years behind bars.
A district court heard that Ridwan was working for Schenker Logistics at Loyang Crescent last year. On his day off on Aug 12, 2010, he had called and accused Firzan of spreading rumours that he was borrowing heavily from colleagues. He then said that he would be coming to repay a loan from the younger man.
Before heading out, he took a knife with a 20cm-long blade from the kitchen. They met at 3pm at the company's guardhouse. That's when Ridwan pulled out the knife from a pocket in his jacket and tried to slash the chest of the other man. A fight ensued and Firzan was able to pin down his opponent and persuade him to let go of the knife. Ridwan then left.
At the Changi General Hospital, the victim was treated for a 12cm bruise on his chest and a cut on the left knee. According to court documents, the illegal moneylending offences were committed a year earlier. Then, he had opened bank accounts and he got his wife and relatives to do so, such that he could hand the ATM cards to a loanshark known only as Don. For each account, he would receive either $100 or $200.
