The Downtown East attack in 2010 is highly infamous for its brutal nature.
19-year-old Darren Ng Wei Jie was murdered by gang members in Downtown East. 12 youths were charged for the crime, and the instigator of the incident was sentenced to 12 years in jail.
However, the main ringleader of the murder has once again been charged with several new crimes after his release.
Stilwell Ong Keat Pin, now 30, is to serve a jail term of 2 years, 2 months and 4 weeks, in addition to 6 strokes of the cane and a fine of $8,200.
On Friday, The Straits Times (ST) reported that Ong was convicted for a series of new offences committed between Oct 2019 and Mar 2021.
The new offences involved cheating, drug and traffic-related offences, and possession of dangerous weapons.
According to ST, Ong reportedly cheated car rentals by impersonating others in his applications. He then drove the cars without proper insurance or a provisional plate, crashing them and causing both property damage and minor injuries.
Furthermore, Ong was discovered with methamphetamine on Aug 2020 and synthetic cannabinoid on 30 Mar 2021.
Additionally, Ong was also caught on 30 Mar 2021 with a 50cm machete, a 52cm short sword and a black knuckleduster in his possession.
He has been sentenced to jail for 2 years, 2 months and 4 weeks alongside 6 strokes of the cane, a 12-month driving ban and an $8,200 fine.
According to AsiaOne, Ong was the instigator of the Downtown East gang clash in 2010.
On 30 Oct of that year, Ong and his fellow gang members were caught in a clash with Republic Polytechnic student Darren Ng Wei Jie and 2 friends.
Ng was caught in a ‘staring incident’ with the gang members, which evolved into a fight. In the resulting clash, Ng was hacked to death with a chopper. The grisly scene left a 500m trail of blood at Pasir Ris resort.
Ong had been sentenced to 12 years and an additional 5 strokes of the cane. ST reports that 8 years after his initial arrest, Ong was released from prison.
However, his new offences – the first of which occurred months after his release – have landed him back in prison.
The Downtown East attack was one of Singapore’s most brutal slashing incidents.
It had resulted in many discussions about the use of violence by street gangs. The judge from the hearings pleaded with youths to realise the folly of such needless violence.
We hope that Ng’s family is recovering well from their loss more than a decade after the incident.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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