3 arrested following fight outside Orchard Towers on Sunday morning
Three men aged between 22 and 30 were arrested following a fight early Sunday (Aug 14) morning outside Orchard Towers, and will be charged in court on Tuesday for rioting.
A group of about 20 men were captured in a 14-second mobile phone clip beating up two men, with the video shared on WhatsApp chat groups on Sunday.
The Singapore Police Force said they were alerted shortly afterwards at about 5.15am on Sunday.
“Through follow-up investigations and with the aid of images from police cameras and CCTV footage, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Tanglin Police Division established the identities of the three men purportedly involved in the fight and arrested them,” said a police spokesman on Monday night.
“The police also identified two men, aged 20 and 30, who are believed to have been attacked during the fight and had sustained minor injuries.”
It was a scene of chaos when the fight happened, said a female front desk manager at Orchard Supreme KTV in Claymore Drive, which was still open at the time.
The manager said, “I couldn’t leave my post because I was alone. There was a lot of shouting but I couldn’t make out what was being said.”
All the suspects involved in the fight fled before the police arrived at the scene, but there was a police camera facing the area where the brawl took place.
A cook who arrived at the foodcourt in the basement of Orchard Towers at 7am said there were a few police cars parked in Claymore Drive at that hour.
The cook, who gave his name only as Hafiz, said: “I don’t know what the fight was about but it’s common to see fights when people here have had too much to drink. Sometimes intoxicated club patrons even try to find trouble at the foodcourt. I just stay out of their way.”
Last week, operators in Orchard Towers had been given official notice in July that their public entertainment licenses would not be renewed beyond May 2023.
The police said law and order in Orchard Towers remains a concern, and has not improved over the years.
A high volume of feedback from residents and neighboring developments had been received, concerning “public safety, vice activities and nuisance by the presence of nightclubs and bars in Orchard Towers”.
The criminal offence of rioting carries an imprisonment term of up to seven years and caning.
Police investigations are ongoing.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES