<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>10 years, 24 strokes for fatal robbery
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Selina Lum
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James Anggang (left) and Hirris Martin, along with another man, robbed and assaulted a Bangladeshi, who died later in hospital.
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AFTER a night of heavy drinking, three Malaysians went looking for someone to rob when they ran out of alcohol.
They fixed their eyes on a lone Bangladeshi worker and started bashing him with a metal rod and raining punches and kicks on him.
All they got from their victim was $50, but he was so badly injured that he died six days later in hospital.
Yesterday, two of the assailants - Hirris Martin, 22, and James Anggang, 23 - were each sentenced to 10 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane, the maximum number of strokes allowed under the law.
They were initially accused of murder, which carries the mandatory death penalty. But both pleaded guilty last week in the High Court to a reduced charge of committing robbery with grievous hurt.
They admitted robbing Mr Abu Saleh Taser Uddin Ahmed, a 24-year-old marine worker, in January last year near Lorong 25, Geylang.
James also admitted to a second charge over a separate robbery he had committed before this case.
His five-year jail term for this offence will run together with the 10-year term.
Both men, who came from Sarawak to work as cleaners in Singapore, accused their accomplice, known only as Ah Choi, as being the mastermind. He is still at large.
The court heard that late on Jan 23 last year, Hirris and James were drinking with some companions in Geylang. When they ran out of liquor, Ah Choi suggested to the pair that they go out to look for money. They picked up a metal rod from a drain and walked around the Geylang area looking for victims.
According to the pair, Ah Choi picked out Mr Abu Saleh - who was sitting alone in an open field between Aljunied MRT station and a carpark in Lorong 25.
Ah Choi hit the Bangladeshi at the back of his head with the rod, while Hirris and James punched and kicked him.
The trio fled with Mr Abu Saleh's wallet, which had $50 in it. They bought six cans of beer and split the rest of the money among themselves, each getting $12.
Mr Abu Saleh was found breathing but unconscious in the early hours of Jan 24 and taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He died of severe head injuries a week later.
Acting on a tip-off, police officers arrested James on Feb 4 at Paya Lebar MRT station and found Mr Abu Saleh's ez-link card and wallet on him. Hirris was arrested at his workplace on the same day.
Yesterday, lawyers R. S. Bajwa and Mahmood Gaznavi, acting for Hirris and James respectively, pointed to Ah Choi as the main offender.
It was Ah Choi who hatched the robbery plan and the pair simply went along. It was also Ah Choi who wielded the metal rod and dealt the fatal blows.
The lawyers stressed that their clients intended to rob, not inflict harm or kill.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Diane Tan said the consequences of the robbery were so great that lengthy jail terms were warranted. Each offence carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and 24 strokes.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Selina Lum
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
James Anggang (left) and Hirris Martin, along with another man, robbed and assaulted a Bangladeshi, who died later in hospital.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AFTER a night of heavy drinking, three Malaysians went looking for someone to rob when they ran out of alcohol.
They fixed their eyes on a lone Bangladeshi worker and started bashing him with a metal rod and raining punches and kicks on him.
All they got from their victim was $50, but he was so badly injured that he died six days later in hospital.
Yesterday, two of the assailants - Hirris Martin, 22, and James Anggang, 23 - were each sentenced to 10 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane, the maximum number of strokes allowed under the law.
They were initially accused of murder, which carries the mandatory death penalty. But both pleaded guilty last week in the High Court to a reduced charge of committing robbery with grievous hurt.
They admitted robbing Mr Abu Saleh Taser Uddin Ahmed, a 24-year-old marine worker, in January last year near Lorong 25, Geylang.
James also admitted to a second charge over a separate robbery he had committed before this case.
His five-year jail term for this offence will run together with the 10-year term.
Both men, who came from Sarawak to work as cleaners in Singapore, accused their accomplice, known only as Ah Choi, as being the mastermind. He is still at large.
The court heard that late on Jan 23 last year, Hirris and James were drinking with some companions in Geylang. When they ran out of liquor, Ah Choi suggested to the pair that they go out to look for money. They picked up a metal rod from a drain and walked around the Geylang area looking for victims.
According to the pair, Ah Choi picked out Mr Abu Saleh - who was sitting alone in an open field between Aljunied MRT station and a carpark in Lorong 25.
Ah Choi hit the Bangladeshi at the back of his head with the rod, while Hirris and James punched and kicked him.
The trio fled with Mr Abu Saleh's wallet, which had $50 in it. They bought six cans of beer and split the rest of the money among themselves, each getting $12.
Mr Abu Saleh was found breathing but unconscious in the early hours of Jan 24 and taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He died of severe head injuries a week later.
Acting on a tip-off, police officers arrested James on Feb 4 at Paya Lebar MRT station and found Mr Abu Saleh's ez-link card and wallet on him. Hirris was arrested at his workplace on the same day.
Yesterday, lawyers R. S. Bajwa and Mahmood Gaznavi, acting for Hirris and James respectively, pointed to Ah Choi as the main offender.
It was Ah Choi who hatched the robbery plan and the pair simply went along. It was also Ah Choi who wielded the metal rod and dealt the fatal blows.
The lawyers stressed that their clients intended to rob, not inflict harm or kill.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Diane Tan said the consequences of the robbery were so great that lengthy jail terms were warranted. Each offence carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and 24 strokes.
