Despite Singapore’s reputation for being a safe and law-abiding society, shocking crimes still occur.
During a raid conducted by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF), authorities made a shocking discovery in a Jurong West flat.
Instead of drugs, they found a loaded pistol in the flat. This is Singapore’s first case of unlawful possession of a firearm in 10 years.
2 men, Muhammad Ikram Abdul Aziz and Amirul Asyraff Muhammad Junus, were arrested and charged over the pistol this week.
According to a joint statement by SPF and CNB, this is what went down.
On 7 Oct, SPF received information from CNB that a 24-year-old man was in possession of a firearm. With this information, SPF and CNB conducted a joint operation and arrested Muhammad Ikram Abdul Aziz.
A search was conducted of his residential unit, where they found a Shooters Sea Hawk Pistol, according to Channel NewsAsia. It was loaded with 4 bullets, and another 4 bullets were found in the flat.
Source
No drugs were discovered in the flat.
Further investigations showed that another man was suspected to have spent time with Ikram despite knowing Ikram illegally possessed a gun. Under Singapore law, anyone who does not alert authorities about the illegal possession of firearms could face the same sentence as the owner of the firearm.
Amirul Asyraff Muhammad Junus, 25, was then arrested in a separate operation in Woodlands at around 2.25am.
The two men were charged in court today over the firearm.
Ikram was charged with 1 count of unlawful possession of arms under the Arms Offences Act while Amirul was charged with 1 count of consorting with a person carrying arms.
They face the same sentencing, even though Amirul was not in possession of the gun.
The authorities have stated:
Any person who consorts with, or is found in the company of, another person who is unlawfully carrying or is in unlawful possession of any arm… be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to the like punishment as that other person with whom he was consorting or in whose company he was found.
Both men continue to be under investigation and will return to court on Oct 17.
They can be sentenced to prison terms of 5 to 10 years and at least 6 strokes of the cane each.
This is a rare case in Singapore, with the last recorded one dating back to 2009. In that case, Lorry driver Low Hua Choon was found with a semi-automatic pistol when he was caught delivering contraband cigarettes.
He claimed that a friend had given it to him and he was unsure of how to dispose of it, reported the Straits Times.
Low was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison and 17 strokes of the cane for unlawful possession of a firearm, ammunition and contraband cigarettes.
Many have expressed their shock at how the gun was found in Singapore despite Singapore’s notoriously strict gun laws.
One netizen asked how the question on everyone’s minds:
Another netizen speculated that the gun could have been constructed instead:
The SPF was also credited for the swift operation:
While the reason for the possession of the firearm is still unknown, more information of the case should be released next week when both men return to court.
What do you think about the case? Let us know in the comments below.
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