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WORKERS BEATEN IN SHENTON WAY
WHY did gang attack them?
March 18, 2009
SENSELESS BEATING: Mr Choo showing how he was attacked by the gang of youths. TNP PICTURE: NG XI JIE
IT WAS 6AM on a weekday morning and it was still dark along the road in Shenton Way where three friends were walking to the cafe where they work.
Suddenly, a gang of six pounced on them.
The three men claimed they were repeatedly kicked and punched.
One of the men suffered multiple bruises on his back, while the other two had cuts and bruises on their foreheads.
The incident happened last Thursday.
The three men are Mr K B Choo, 25, Mr C O Jong, 21, and Mr T Y Choo, 18.
They did not want to be identified by their full names for fear of reprisal.
Their boss, the cafe owner, also asked that his cafe not be named for fear of more trouble.
That morning, the three men, all Malaysians, had taken the train from Boon Lay, where they live, and alighted at Tanjong Pagar MRT station.
The six-year-old cafe where they work is a five-minute walk from the station.
As the men were walking along Maxwell Road, they claimed they were suddenly confronted by the five men and one woman, who looked to be in their early 20s.
The men claimed they had never before seen the group.
Mr T Y Choo told The New Paper: 'One of the men purposely knocked K B in the shoulders. It was then I knew they were trying to create trouble.'
Suddenly, a man in the gang attacked Mr Jong, who was walking behind his two friends. Mr Jong fell into a row of shrubs along the pavement, but his assailant continued kicking him.
Frightened, his friends ran.
'I was so scared,' said Mr T Y Choo. 'One of the men gave chase and managed to grab hold of K B's bag.'
Trapped by his bag, Mr K B Choo said he ended up being punched and kicked by three people. 'I had no chance to retaliate at all,' he said.
Mr T Y Choo said: 'I tried to run, but one of them kicked me, and I fell.'
He tried blocking the blows with his hands and legs but it didn't help. He claimed he was kicked at least 15 times on his head, and suffered many more blows to his chest.
All this while, another man continued kicking Mr Jong.
'(He) later told me that one man and the woman had told the man to stop kicking him,' Mr T Y Choo recalled.
'He heard them saying in Hokkien that 'little brother is still young, he doesn't know anything so don't beat him'.'
Fled
After eight to 10 minutes, the three victims managed to flee from the attackers.
They ran to the cafe, about a minute's walk away, and called the owner.
Meanwhile, one of them managed to stop a patrolling police car.
The owner of the cafe also called the police. Officers arrived at the cafe shortly after.
A police spokesman told The New Paper that they received a call about a fight at 6.20am. The police are investigating.
Mr Jong suffered multiple bruises on his back, while Mr K B Choo had a cut on his forehead. He did not need stitches.
Mr T Y Choo, who had a bruise on his forehead, went to the hospital the following day for a check-up.
The victims and the cafe's owner, who called The New Paper hotline about the incident, claimed that a number of fights have broken out in the area recently.
The three men have been working at the cafe for between one month and five years.
They now take another, longer route to work.
The cafe owner said: 'They are still in shock and now they are more cautious when they walk to work.'
Geraldine Yeo, newsroom intern
WORKERS BEATEN IN SHENTON WAY
WHY did gang attack them?
March 18, 2009
SENSELESS BEATING: Mr Choo showing how he was attacked by the gang of youths. TNP PICTURE: NG XI JIE
IT WAS 6AM on a weekday morning and it was still dark along the road in Shenton Way where three friends were walking to the cafe where they work.
Suddenly, a gang of six pounced on them.
The three men claimed they were repeatedly kicked and punched.
One of the men suffered multiple bruises on his back, while the other two had cuts and bruises on their foreheads.
The incident happened last Thursday.
The three men are Mr K B Choo, 25, Mr C O Jong, 21, and Mr T Y Choo, 18.
They did not want to be identified by their full names for fear of reprisal.
Their boss, the cafe owner, also asked that his cafe not be named for fear of more trouble.
That morning, the three men, all Malaysians, had taken the train from Boon Lay, where they live, and alighted at Tanjong Pagar MRT station.
The six-year-old cafe where they work is a five-minute walk from the station.
As the men were walking along Maxwell Road, they claimed they were suddenly confronted by the five men and one woman, who looked to be in their early 20s.
The men claimed they had never before seen the group.
Mr T Y Choo told The New Paper: 'One of the men purposely knocked K B in the shoulders. It was then I knew they were trying to create trouble.'
Suddenly, a man in the gang attacked Mr Jong, who was walking behind his two friends. Mr Jong fell into a row of shrubs along the pavement, but his assailant continued kicking him.
Frightened, his friends ran.
'I was so scared,' said Mr T Y Choo. 'One of the men gave chase and managed to grab hold of K B's bag.'
Trapped by his bag, Mr K B Choo said he ended up being punched and kicked by three people. 'I had no chance to retaliate at all,' he said.
Mr T Y Choo said: 'I tried to run, but one of them kicked me, and I fell.'
He tried blocking the blows with his hands and legs but it didn't help. He claimed he was kicked at least 15 times on his head, and suffered many more blows to his chest.
All this while, another man continued kicking Mr Jong.
'(He) later told me that one man and the woman had told the man to stop kicking him,' Mr T Y Choo recalled.
'He heard them saying in Hokkien that 'little brother is still young, he doesn't know anything so don't beat him'.'
Fled
After eight to 10 minutes, the three victims managed to flee from the attackers.
They ran to the cafe, about a minute's walk away, and called the owner.
Meanwhile, one of them managed to stop a patrolling police car.
The owner of the cafe also called the police. Officers arrived at the cafe shortly after.
A police spokesman told The New Paper that they received a call about a fight at 6.20am. The police are investigating.
Mr Jong suffered multiple bruises on his back, while Mr K B Choo had a cut on his forehead. He did not need stitches.
Mr T Y Choo, who had a bruise on his forehead, went to the hospital the following day for a check-up.
The victims and the cafe's owner, who called The New Paper hotline about the incident, claimed that a number of fights have broken out in the area recently.
The three men have been working at the cafe for between one month and five years.
They now take another, longer route to work.
The cafe owner said: 'They are still in shock and now they are more cautious when they walk to work.'
Geraldine Yeo, newsroom intern
