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Nee Soon RC tournament turns ugly as rival teams fight, with 2 men hospitalised
Baby hurt when pram topples in... FOOTBRAWL
By Vivien Chan
June 06, 2009
TRAUMATISED: Rita (far left) with her baby and mother, Madam Anita. TNP PICTURES: CHOO CHWEE HUA
WHAT started as a friendly football tournament turned into a footbrawl as 30 people traded punches and kicks last Sunday.
One family claimed that several of its members were injured, including a three-month-old baby boy when his pram was knocked to the ground in the melee.
The baby needed outpatient treatment in hospital while his father and uncle were warded for one night.
The seven-a-side football tournament, which was organised by the Residents' Committee (RC) of Zone B, Nee Soon South at a field in Yishun, featured 12 teams.
The brawl started about four hours into the tournament after two opposing players tangled with each other.
The captain of one of the teams, Khairul, 22, related his version of what happened.
'My teammate was dribbling the ball when an opponent pushed him. As they fell, my teammate accidentally kicked our opponent's leg.'
Khairul claimed the opponent got up and kicked and punched his teammate.
The full-time National Serviceman said another member of the opposing team then joined in to kick and punch his teammate.
As a fight broke out between both teams, players of another team joined in to attack Khairul's team, he alleged.
Khairul said he tried to shield his teammate - by lying over him on the ground.
'The players kicked and stomped on us with their soccer boots,' he said.
He said he sustained bruises and cuts on his head and body.
Khairul's mother, brother, two sisters and his baby nephew were about 3m away, at a stall they had rented from the organisers to sell noodles and finger food.
Khairul's mother Madam Anita, 47, said: 'I tried to stop the fight. I tried to pull the players away from my son, but they hit me too.'
She said two female RC members and Khairul's teammates also tried to help, but could not do much.
But her intervention gave Khairul and his brother, Faizal, 25, the chance to whisk his injured teammate to the void deck of a nearby block.
The extent of the teammate's injuries could not be confirmed.
Madam Anita's oldest daughter, Rita, 26, a personal assistant, said her husband, Nizam, 27, was also attacked when he went down to the field.
'My father was watching the tournament from our flat window, and he shouted to my husband that there was a fight,' she said.
Nizam, a warehouse assistant, said: 'I got there and asked my mother-in-law what happened.'
Before she could reply, someone jumped him from behind and punched him. Others then punched and kicked him, he alleged.
Nizam, who suffered cuts and bruises on his head and body, also claimed his attackers were armed with plastic chairs and the metal legs of foldable tables.
Khairul said that when he and Faizal tried to help Nizam, they were attacked again. Faizal, a security officer, lost a tooth and sustained injuries to his head, neck and shoulders.
Rita said that she was also hit and bruised on her arms and legs when she tried to help her husband.
Amid the chaos, she claimed, her pram was knocked over. The child was shaken but did not fall out of the pram.
One of Khairul's teammates picked up the pram, but the baby was already hurt.
Madam Anita took the baby and ran to the next block while Rita shouted to her sister, Lina, 15, to run to the neighbourhood police post about three blocks away to seek help.
When four police cars arrived soon after, the players of the other team fled, Lina said.
Rita said that while the police officers were getting statements from her family members, the tournament restarted and ended at about 2pm.
Khairul said his team had to withdraw because too many players were injured. The tournament was won by a team which was not involved in the brawl.
Nizam and Faizal were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in an ambulance while Madam Anita took her grandson to KK Women's and Children's Hospital in another ambulance.
Rita said her baby suffered bruises on the left side of his body.
'He didn't cry that day because he was in shock. We were so worried. But for the next two days, he cried non-stop,' she said.
'The doctor told us that if he continued crying on the third day, we'd have to send him to hospital. Thankfully, he stopped crying.'
Khairul claimed he later saw football players and spectators eating the food at his family's stall.
The family also alleged that the money from the stall was missing and their baby pram was damaged.
Rita estimated that they lost close to $3,000 worth of items and cash.
She said her family tried to seek compensation from the RC on Wednesday night, but were told they would only be compensated for the losses from their food stall.
When contacted, the RC's chairman, Mr Tan Joo Teck, said that about 150 people were present at the tournament, but he declined to comment on the brawl.
A police spokesman said they received a call at about 1pm, informing them of a fight at a field opposite Block 791 at Yishun Avenue 2.
Three people were taken to hospital and investigations are ongoing.
Police are appealing for witnesses to call 1800-255-0000.
Additional reporting by Ervina Mohd Jamil, newsroom intern
All the names have been changed at the family's request
Nee Soon RC tournament turns ugly as rival teams fight, with 2 men hospitalised
Baby hurt when pram topples in... FOOTBRAWL
By Vivien Chan
June 06, 2009
TRAUMATISED: Rita (far left) with her baby and mother, Madam Anita. TNP PICTURES: CHOO CHWEE HUA
WHAT started as a friendly football tournament turned into a footbrawl as 30 people traded punches and kicks last Sunday.
One family claimed that several of its members were injured, including a three-month-old baby boy when his pram was knocked to the ground in the melee.
The baby needed outpatient treatment in hospital while his father and uncle were warded for one night.
The seven-a-side football tournament, which was organised by the Residents' Committee (RC) of Zone B, Nee Soon South at a field in Yishun, featured 12 teams.
The brawl started about four hours into the tournament after two opposing players tangled with each other.
The captain of one of the teams, Khairul, 22, related his version of what happened.
'My teammate was dribbling the ball when an opponent pushed him. As they fell, my teammate accidentally kicked our opponent's leg.'
Khairul claimed the opponent got up and kicked and punched his teammate.
The full-time National Serviceman said another member of the opposing team then joined in to kick and punch his teammate.
As a fight broke out between both teams, players of another team joined in to attack Khairul's team, he alleged.
Khairul said he tried to shield his teammate - by lying over him on the ground.
'The players kicked and stomped on us with their soccer boots,' he said.
He said he sustained bruises and cuts on his head and body.
Khairul's mother, brother, two sisters and his baby nephew were about 3m away, at a stall they had rented from the organisers to sell noodles and finger food.
Khairul's mother Madam Anita, 47, said: 'I tried to stop the fight. I tried to pull the players away from my son, but they hit me too.'
She said two female RC members and Khairul's teammates also tried to help, but could not do much.
But her intervention gave Khairul and his brother, Faizal, 25, the chance to whisk his injured teammate to the void deck of a nearby block.
The extent of the teammate's injuries could not be confirmed.
Madam Anita's oldest daughter, Rita, 26, a personal assistant, said her husband, Nizam, 27, was also attacked when he went down to the field.
'My father was watching the tournament from our flat window, and he shouted to my husband that there was a fight,' she said.
Nizam, a warehouse assistant, said: 'I got there and asked my mother-in-law what happened.'
Before she could reply, someone jumped him from behind and punched him. Others then punched and kicked him, he alleged.
Nizam, who suffered cuts and bruises on his head and body, also claimed his attackers were armed with plastic chairs and the metal legs of foldable tables.
Khairul said that when he and Faizal tried to help Nizam, they were attacked again. Faizal, a security officer, lost a tooth and sustained injuries to his head, neck and shoulders.
Rita said that she was also hit and bruised on her arms and legs when she tried to help her husband.
Amid the chaos, she claimed, her pram was knocked over. The child was shaken but did not fall out of the pram.
One of Khairul's teammates picked up the pram, but the baby was already hurt.
Madam Anita took the baby and ran to the next block while Rita shouted to her sister, Lina, 15, to run to the neighbourhood police post about three blocks away to seek help.
When four police cars arrived soon after, the players of the other team fled, Lina said.
Rita said that while the police officers were getting statements from her family members, the tournament restarted and ended at about 2pm.
Khairul said his team had to withdraw because too many players were injured. The tournament was won by a team which was not involved in the brawl.
Nizam and Faizal were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in an ambulance while Madam Anita took her grandson to KK Women's and Children's Hospital in another ambulance.
Rita said her baby suffered bruises on the left side of his body.
'He didn't cry that day because he was in shock. We were so worried. But for the next two days, he cried non-stop,' she said.
'The doctor told us that if he continued crying on the third day, we'd have to send him to hospital. Thankfully, he stopped crying.'
Khairul claimed he later saw football players and spectators eating the food at his family's stall.
The family also alleged that the money from the stall was missing and their baby pram was damaged.
Rita estimated that they lost close to $3,000 worth of items and cash.
She said her family tried to seek compensation from the RC on Wednesday night, but were told they would only be compensated for the losses from their food stall.
When contacted, the RC's chairman, Mr Tan Joo Teck, said that about 150 people were present at the tournament, but he declined to comment on the brawl.
A police spokesman said they received a call at about 1pm, informing them of a fight at a field opposite Block 791 at Yishun Avenue 2.
Three people were taken to hospital and investigations are ongoing.
Police are appealing for witnesses to call 1800-255-0000.
Additional reporting by Ervina Mohd Jamil, newsroom intern
All the names have been changed at the family's request
