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3 American brothers in S'pore on holiday confront porridge stall staff with knives, get jail & short detention order
The two younger brothers lied to the eldest brother that five people had attacked them.
December 06, 2024, 07:18 PM
Two brothers, aged 18 and 21, had a verbal dispute with a customer and the stall owner of a porridge shop in Orchard Plaza on the morning of Jul. 27.
They then told their eldest brother, 25, that five people had attacked them.
The three went to a nearby supermarket to purchase three knives, a frying pan, and bleach before returning to confront the stall owner.
They were arrested soon after.
The three brothers are all Americans, and had come to Singapore for a holiday.
They each pleaded guilty to one charge of being armed with a knife on Dec. 5.
25-year-old Albert Max Martinez-Arizala and 21-year-old Alexis Jesus Martinez-Arizala were sentenced to six weeks' jail and four weeks' jail respectively.
18-year-old Alejandro Martinez-Arizala Jr was sentenced to a short detention order (SDO) of 14 days due to his age.
An SDO detains the offender in prison for up to 14 days, acting as a deterrent by allowing the offender to experience prison life, though they will not have a criminal record when they are released.
Stall owner told one of the brothers not to lean on a movable partition
The three men had arrived in Singapore for a three-day holiday, and had intended to head to Melbourne, Australia on Jul. 29.
After checking into their hotel on Jul. 26, they visited two clubs around midnight on Jul. 27.
They wanted to visit a third club, but it had closed when they arrived at 5am.
The eldest, Albert, left his two brothers at the entrance of the club to try and locate an automated teller machine (ATM) to withdraw some cash.
He took over an hour as he encountered issues with the machine.
Meanwhile, Alexis and Alejandro roamed around the area and approached two women seated at Tai Heng Teochew Porridge shop in Orchard Plaza at around 6:28am, where Alexis leaned on a movable partition while speaking to them.
The stall owner, 45-year-old Zhang Zhiqiang told Alexis not to lean on the movable partition as it was dangerous, which led to Alexis scolding Zhang in response.
Zhang responded angrily and asked what Alexis’ problem was.
Another man, who identified himself as the boyfriend of one of the women that Alexis had approached, asked if the brothers knew his girlfriend.
They replied that they didn't, but said they were trying to get to know the women.
A verbal dispute then broke out. Alexis gestured for a fight and Alejandro mimicked his brother in a similar gesture.
At least three passersby attempted to de-escalate the situation, and the brothers left the stall at about 6:33am.
The brothers, who could not contact Albert directly, managed to locate and reunite with their eldest sibling by borrowing a female passerby's phone.
There, they contacted their mother, who was in the U.S., and she contacted Albert and helped relay his location to them.
Albert, who was still trying to resolve issues with the bank, was informed by his brothers that they had been "attacked" by five people for leaning on a partition at a food stall, though they were never actually attacked.
Alexis and Alejandro said they wanted to return to the stall to confront the people who had attacked them earlier.
Seeing that his brothers were visibly angered, Albert agreed to this.
Alejandro was worried they would be outnumbered and suggested that they should not return unarmed.
The trio purchased three kitchen knives, a frying pan, and a bottle of Clorox Disinfectant Bathroom Cleaner from a nearby supermarket for S$127.51.
Each knife had an 18-centimetre-long blade.
The trio returned to the stall at around 8:56am and demanded to know where Zhang was. At least nine customers were at the stall then.
Albert approached a 65-year-old employee who was inside the stall.
Albert removed the knife from his pocket and raised it to his head level in a threatening manner, demanding to know who attacked his brothers.
He also held up the pan and Clorox while looking in the employee's direction.
The employee replied that he didn't know and that they should go away.
Albert, still holding onto the weapons, walked to the movable partition where five customers were seated.
The co-owner of the porridge stall noticed the brothers had brought weapons with them and called the police.
Around 8:58am, Albert's knife ripped a hole in his back pocket and dropped out.
The loud noise of the knife hitting the floor caught the attention of several customers and the co-owner was frightened after seeing the knife.
"Beluga ass whale"
The co-owner tried to explain to the brothers that Zhang had already left, to which Alexis called her a "fat f***ing Beluga ass whale!" and insisted that Zhang had hit and pushed him earlier.
The offended co-owner told Alexis she was just working there and that he need not insult her.
Albert then told Alexis and Alejandro to leave her alone, and the two brothers apologised to her.
Realising the alleged culprits were not around, Albert attempted to negotiate compensation of S$300, and subsequently S$200, for the alleged assault of his two brothers.
He also told his two younger brothers to quickly leave the premises while he negotiated with the co-owner at the stall.
The co-owner did not pay any compensation.
In the meantime, Alexis and Alejandro left the porridge stall with the three knives and frying pan at around 9:01am and disposed the items in the first-floor male toilet of Orchard Point shopping centre.
The police arrived at the porridge stall at 9:06am and located the two younger brothers at the shopping centre around 9.20am.
The three knives and pan were also found and seized by the police.
The trio was arrested at around 12:10pm that day.
Judge: Irrelevant that brothers were previously robbed in Thailand
Defence lawyer A Rajandran initially asked for the brothers to be fined but later sought custodial terms instead, according to CNA.
He said that their anxiety about being outnumbered at the porridge stall stemmed from being victims of a robbery in Thailand before coming to Singapore, where they had been outnumbered.
Principal District Judge Toh Han Li said this was irrelevant as they were not robbed in Singapore.
He also said that Alexis and Alejandro chose to return to the porridge stall more than two hours ago after the incident occurred, suggesting that the purpose of doing so must be for a confrontation.
The judge also said probation was not suitable for the youngest brother, Alejandro, as the 18-year-old would not have the family support in Singapore for him to complete probation.
The men started serving their sentences on Dec. 5.
Those armed with weapons that are likely to cause death, without lawful authority or purpose, can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
Top image via Amber Tay/Mothership
