Singapore man jailed for consorting with friend who smuggled firearms

A 27-years old Amirul Asyraff Muhammad Junus was sentenced to five years and two weeks in prison with six strokes of the cane (Yes, caning is a form of corporal punishment in Singapore) for consorting with a fellow gang member who smuggled a firearm into Singapore from Malaysia.

His friend, Muhammad Ikram Abdul Aziz, 26, had illegally carried a Shooters Sea Hawk pistol and eight bullets. Ikram was sentenced to seven years and ten months in prison with six strokes of the cane in March this year.

The two friends were very close since they had played football together when they were young and then became members of the same gang.

In January 2019, a man named Faris from another gang assaulted Amirul’s ex-wife outside Club Baliza in Marina Square. Amirul sought Ikram’s guidance on how to settle the grudge and decided to get the pistol for their safety and to scare Faris and the rest of his crew.

In February 2019, Ikram bought a firearm, as well as a handgun magazine and eight rounds for $900 at a tattoo parlor in Malaysia’s Johor Bahru shopping centre. Then a month later, when he came back to Singapore, he gave the gun to Amirul.

Although Amirul didn’t use the pistol to scare the other gang, a baton round was found inside his motorcycle’s box at Woodlands Checkpoint in September this year.

Amirul claimed he found the weapon in his flat and brought it to Malaysia with him to defend his girlfriend and himself throughout their journey.

Two officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau seized Ikram on the void deck of Block 731, Jurong West Street 72 for suspected drug consumption the next month, bringing to light the man’s firearm-related offenses.

Police searched his apartment and discovered the pistol, bullets, and magazine.

An offender charged with consorting faces a maximum punishment of ten years in prison and at least six strokes of the cane, whilst one caught with a baton in a public place faces a month in prison and a $5,000 fine.

SOURCE: The Straits Times