The sixth person connected to the fatal fight at Orchard Towers in Jul. 2019 has been sentenced to a jail term of four years and nine months, and 12 strokes of the cane, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

Tan Hong Sheng, 24, was sentenced on Mar. 5, after he pleaded guilty to three charges of rioting, a charge of being in the company of a person possessing an offensive weapon, and being a member of an unlawful assembly to assault a person, CNA reported.

This leaves Tan Sen Yang as the only suspect currently still facing a murder charge, out of the the seven accused in the brawl.

In addition, Tan Hong Sheng pleaded guilty to his involvement in two separate incidents of rioting on Nov. 2018 and Apr. 2019.

What happened on the day of the Orchard Towers incident?

The Attorney-General's Chambers summarised the prosecution's case in an Oct. 2020 media release as such:

• Initially, Tan Sen Yang had been drinking with his acquaintances at the Naughty Girl Club on the second floor of Orchard Towers.
• He was allegedly in possession of the kerambit knife at that time, which he supposedly placed on the table, resulting in his acquaintances seeing the weapon.
• Afterwards, they were confronted by the deceased while leaving the Naughty Girl Club.
• Tan Sen Yang, along with Ang Da Yuan, Natalie Siow Yu Zhen, Joel Tan Yun Sheng and the deceased ended up in a fight.
• Three other individuals — Chan Jia Xing, Tan Hong Sheng and Loo Boon Chong — were also at the scene of the fight. However, they either did not participate or tried to stop the fight.
• Eventually, the victim passed away from his knife injuries.

Tan Hong Sheng demonstrated "restraint" throughout incident: Defence lawyers

According to Tan Hong Sheng's lawyers, Josephus Tan and Cory Wong of Invictus Law Corporation, their client had showed "restraint" throughout the situation, and had not participated in the attack on Satheesh, both CNA and ST reported.

His lawyers also noted that he had attempted to stop Tan Sen Yang.

Tan and Wong asked for a jail term of 45 to 50 months, and nine to 12 strokes of the cane as their client's sentence.

Meanwhile, the prosecution had requested for a jail term of at least 60 months' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane on the grounds that Tan Hong Sheng had been convicted of rioting on at least two previous occasions in 2011 and 2016, and had been involved in the Orchard Towers brawl while he was on bail for another rioting charge, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

Other rioting incidents Tan Hong Sheng was involved in

On Nov. 18, 2018, Tan Hong Sheng was involved in a brawl at Club V5 in Ming Arcade in which he attacked a man with a liquor bottle by hitting him repeatedly on the head.

He was arrested on Feb. 25, 2019 and subsequently released amidst pending investigations.

However, he got involved in another act of rioting on Apr. 2019, outside the District 9 nightclub along Orchard Road.

He was arrested, and later released on bail, with the Orchard Towers incident transpiring three months later.

On Aug. 29, 2019, Tan Hong Sheng jumped bail, missing his court hearing for the Orchard Towers incident.

He was re-arrested the following month and charged for his involvement in another riot, which took place in August 2019.

Punishment meted out to accused in Orchard Towers incident so far

The sentences of the other convicted co-accused in the incident are:

• Ang Da Yuan: Eight months’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane.
• Natalie Siow Yu Zhen: Five months' imprisonment.
• Joel Tan Yun Sheng: Four weeks' imprisonment.
• Loo Boon Chong: Five months' imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Chan Jia Xing was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, and let off with a conditional warning.

Tan Sen Yang, whose case is still pending in the High Court, faces a charge of causing the death of Satheesh Noel s/o Gobidass, by using a karambit knife with the intention of causing multiple injuries to the victim’s head and neck area.

The maximum punishment he faces is the death penalty.

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