Man who stole motorcycle after missing last bus home, threatened brother over PUBG game, jailed
SINGAPORE — After missing his bus, Mohamed Nur Iskhandar Roni decided to try stealing motorcycles so that he and his friends could get home.
In a separate offence, the 23-year-old also threatened his younger brother after the latter wanted to play an online game without him.
Iskhandar was sentenced to seven months and three weeks’ jail on Thursday (6 June) after admitting to stealing a motorcycle key, stealing a motorcycle, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.
He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining driving licenses for a year upon his release. One charge of resisting arrest and two counts of theft were taken into account for his sentencing.
Iskhandar’s lawyer told the court that his client had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline intellectual functioning following the offences.
Trio stole keys, motorcycle, helmet
On 23 April last year, Iskhandar and two friends – Muhammad Shazwan Ismail, 17, and Afi Anaqi khairun Nizam, 15 – were in the Maude Road area near midnight.
Iskandar told his friends that he had missed his last bus home. Both he and Shazwan then suggested stealing motorcycles for each of them to ride home.
They decided to steal the keys from the red fire hosereel cabinets as they knew these keys could be used to start the engines of a particular model of motorcycle.
The trio stole several keys and but failed to start the motorcycles they tried them on. They later arrived at Block 7 French Road and managed to start the engine to one motorcycle.
The group then moved the motorcycle to a service road beside Block 8 French Road. There, Iskhandar rode the motorcycle around in circles before letting Shazwan have his turn.
Shazwan and Afi also stole a motorcycle helmet from the same parking lot.
An unidentified Chinese man later confronted the trio at about 3am, asking them “What time is it already and where are you staying at?”
Iskhandar swung the stolen helmet at the man, and his two friends prepared to attack the man before a witness intervened. The trio then ran off.
Shazwan and Afi have since been dealt with by the court for their parts in the incident.
Fight over video game
While on bail for the offence, Iskhandar threatened his younger brother after an argument about the popular online game PUBG.
On 3 January this year, the 17-year-old brother asked Iskhandar to play PUBG with him. Iskhandar agreed but asked for five minutes to check his Instagram account. He later told his brother to give him another five minutes.
“Not wanting to wait, the victim told (Iskhandar) that he would start playing the game first,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Pavitha Pamkumar.
“Irate, (Iskhandar) threw an ashtray at the victim’s face.”
The younger brother blocked the ashtray and threw it back at Iskhandar.
After a short verbal exchange, Iskhandar took a knife concealed in an umbrella and challenged his younger brother to attack him. The teen saw the knife’s outline and hid behind a pillar.
Iskhandar returned the umbrella and knife to his room but retrieved the weapon again after his mother chastised him. His elder sister later called the police, while the mother and younger brother locked themselves in a room to avoid Iskhandar.
DPP Pavitha asked for a sentence of nine months and one week for Iskhandar, noting that he had shown premeditation and planning in his theft of the motorcycle.
Pramnath Vijayakumar, Iskhandar’s Criminal Legal Aid Scheme-assigned lawyer, said that his client had not been aware of his psychiatric conditions, which were untreated, at the time of the offences.
According to a medical report, Iskhandar’s mental conditions impaired his self-control and judgement, said the lawyer. Due to his borderline intellectual functioning, Iskhandar was unable to appreciate the consequences of his theft and instead focused on short-term gratification, Pramnath added.
In sentencing Iskhandar, District Judge Marvin Bay described Iskhandar as the “prime mover” of the motorcycle theft, as he had told his friends about the hosereel keys.
“I note your youth, and the medical report indicating your ADHD and borderline intellectual ability leading to impulsive conduct, but the court must impose a sentence that will be effective to impose some self-restraint and thus deter you from committing further offences,” he said.
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