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Two SAF servicemen assaulted in Perth
By Kai Fong | SingaporeScene – Tue, Mar 29, 2011 1:56 PM
One of the victims suffered severe bruising and cuts to his back and torso. Both his eyes were swollen and he may need plastic surgery on his eye. The other victim had a 2cm to 3cm cut on his forehead that required stitches. The two RSAF servicemen were attacked while fishing near Ascot Waters at 4am on Saturday by a group of about seven men who had asked them for cigarettes. -- PHOTO: WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE
Two full-time Singaporean national servicemen were injured in an assault by a gang of seven men in a residential suburb of Perth on Saturday.
Western Australian police said that the off-duty Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) servicemen, as confirmed by the Defence Ministry (Mindef), were fishing at about 4am when the group of men approached them to ask for cigarettes. Both Singaporeans, aged 19 and 20, replied by asking how old they were, reported The Straits Times (ST).
The seven men then left, only to return to demand their wallets instead. When the duo refused a second time, the group attacked them with their makeshift weapons — a metal wrench, an empty beer bottle in hand and the victims' fishing rods. The attackers fled the scene after getting hold of some of the victims' cash and credit cards.
The servicemen were taken to Royal Perth Hospital. The 19-year-old suffered a 2cm to 3cm cut on his forehead that required stitches and his companion bore severe bruising and cuts to his back and torso. Both of the latter's eyes were swollen and he may need plastic surgery on his eye.
The victims were discharged from the hospital on the same day, and their next of kin had been informed.
Arrests have yet to be made, however. The police are currently looking for the group of attackers, described by the victims as "dark-skinned males" in their late teens and early 20s, and with an average height of about 1.8m.
The attack happened less than 10km from the city centre at a residential suburb called Ascot Waters. Right by the Swan River, it is extremely popular with fishing enthusiasts.
In a statement yesterday, Mindef confirmed that both victims were based at the RSAF's Flying Training Institute at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Pearce in Perth, about 35km from Ascot Waters. The institute is home to servicemen from the RSAF's 130 Squadron.
The RSAF detachment in the RAAF Base Pearce in Perth is assisting the Australian authorities with their investigations.
This is not the first time that Singaporean soldiers training in Australia have been involved in such incidents.
On 19 Oct 1996, two servicemen were attacked and robbed in front of a motel in Rockhampton, where the SAF's largest annual overseas exercise is held every year.
Earlier that month, another serviceman in Rockhampton was elbowed in the face by a passer-by.
By Kai Fong | SingaporeScene – Tue, Mar 29, 2011 1:56 PM
One of the victims suffered severe bruising and cuts to his back and torso. Both his eyes were swollen and he may need plastic surgery on his eye. The other victim had a 2cm to 3cm cut on his forehead that required stitches. The two RSAF servicemen were attacked while fishing near Ascot Waters at 4am on Saturday by a group of about seven men who had asked them for cigarettes. -- PHOTO: WESTERN AUSTRALIA POLICE
Two full-time Singaporean national servicemen were injured in an assault by a gang of seven men in a residential suburb of Perth on Saturday.
Western Australian police said that the off-duty Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) servicemen, as confirmed by the Defence Ministry (Mindef), were fishing at about 4am when the group of men approached them to ask for cigarettes. Both Singaporeans, aged 19 and 20, replied by asking how old they were, reported The Straits Times (ST).
The seven men then left, only to return to demand their wallets instead. When the duo refused a second time, the group attacked them with their makeshift weapons — a metal wrench, an empty beer bottle in hand and the victims' fishing rods. The attackers fled the scene after getting hold of some of the victims' cash and credit cards.
The servicemen were taken to Royal Perth Hospital. The 19-year-old suffered a 2cm to 3cm cut on his forehead that required stitches and his companion bore severe bruising and cuts to his back and torso. Both of the latter's eyes were swollen and he may need plastic surgery on his eye.
The victims were discharged from the hospital on the same day, and their next of kin had been informed.
Arrests have yet to be made, however. The police are currently looking for the group of attackers, described by the victims as "dark-skinned males" in their late teens and early 20s, and with an average height of about 1.8m.
The attack happened less than 10km from the city centre at a residential suburb called Ascot Waters. Right by the Swan River, it is extremely popular with fishing enthusiasts.
In a statement yesterday, Mindef confirmed that both victims were based at the RSAF's Flying Training Institute at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Pearce in Perth, about 35km from Ascot Waters. The institute is home to servicemen from the RSAF's 130 Squadron.
The RSAF detachment in the RAAF Base Pearce in Perth is assisting the Australian authorities with their investigations.
This is not the first time that Singaporean soldiers training in Australia have been involved in such incidents.
On 19 Oct 1996, two servicemen were attacked and robbed in front of a motel in Rockhampton, where the SAF's largest annual overseas exercise is held every year.
Earlier that month, another serviceman in Rockhampton was elbowed in the face by a passer-by.
