Man admits to consorting with friend who had pistol and bullets
SINGAPORE — A man whose ex-wife was allegedly assaulted by a gang sought advice from a friend on how to solve the problem and "take revenge" for his ex-wife.
Amirul Asyraff Muhammad Junus, 27, later learned that his friend, Muhammad Ikram Abdul Aziz, 26, had gone to Johor Bahru to buy a pistol and bullets for him. Despite knowing this, Amirul continued meeting and communicating with Ikram.
Amirul pleaded guilty on Monday (11 October) to consorting with Ikram, who was in unlawful possession of the pistol and bullets for some seven months. He also pleaded guilty to one count of carrying a truncheon.
Another four unrelated charges relating to drugs and road traffic offences will be considered for his sentencing, which was adjourned to 1 December.
Ikram pleaded guilty on 1 March to one count of unlawfully possessing eight bullets and the Shooters Seahawk pistol, which is a .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol manufactured by an arms maker from the Philippines, under the Arms Offences Act.
He was sentenced to seven years and 10 months’ jail, and given six strokes of the cane.
Schoolmates and secret society members
The two men were formerly schoolmates at ITE College West in 2012 and played football together.
They joined a secret society, with Amirul as Ikram's "subordinate". In January 2019, Amirul was informed that his ex-wife had been assaulted by a person known as “Faris” at a club in Marina Square. She told him that Faris had declared he was from a rival gang.
After Amirul declared that he wanted to take revenge for his ex-wife, Ikram decided to buy a gun in order to scare the rival gang and to show that Amirul could not be bullied.
Between 18 and 21 February 2019, Ikram purchased the weapons from an unidentified Indian man named Boy JB in Malaysia. He brought the items back to Singapore.
In March 2019, Ikram showed Amirul the weapons while the two were in Ikram’s bedroom, giving the latter a shock. Ikram told Amirul that he was not able to fight for him because he had a young daughter to care for. He thought that the pistol was the easiest way to help Amirul.
He then asked Amirul if he wanted to bring the pistol home, but Amirul refused. The two argued as Amirul expected Ikram to protect him, while Ikram felt that Amirul should handle his personal matters.
Despite their argument, the two friends continued meeting. During this period, Amirul told Ikram that he was confronted by members of the rival gang on at least two occasions and that his younger brother had been surrounded by its members while on the way home.
Amirul claimed that that the gang was bullying him, prompting Ikram to ask if he wanted to bring the pistol for a settlement talk with the rival gang. Amirul rejected the suggestion as he had not decided if he wanted to take revenge on the gang on behalf of his ex-wife.
On 8 October 2019, Ikram was arrested. Police seized a glove containing one bullet in each of the four fingers, the pistol and its magazine, which was loaded with the other four bullets. The weapon was determined to be capable of being fired.
Separately, on 3 September 2019, when Amirul entered Singapore from Malaysia using the Woodlands Checkpoint on his motorcycle, officers found a truncheon in the top box of his motorcycle. The police were alerted.
Amirul said that he had found the truncheon in his flat and had brought it to Malaysia for his own protection.
For consorting with a person in unlawful possession of a weapon, Amirul faces a jail term of between at least five years and up to 10 years, and a caning of at least six strokes. For carrying a truncheon, he may be jailed up to a month and/or fined up to $5,000.
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