Man pleads guilty to consorting with friend who had loaded pistol, in first such case in a decade
Amirul Asyraff Muhammad Junus pleaded guilty to consorting with a person carrying arms. (Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY)
SINGAPORE: A man sought help from his friend as he hoped to seek revenge on behalf of his ex-wife, but was shocked when his friend presented him with a loaded pistol.
Amirul Asyraff Muhammad Junus, 27, pleaded guilty on Monday (Oct 11) to one count of consorting with Muhammad Ikram Abdul Aziz, who was in unlawful possession of a pistol with bullets, and a second charge of personally possessing a truncheon.
Ikram was previously sentenced to seven years and 10 months' jail and six strokes of the cane for illegally possessing a pistol and eight bullets in what was the first such case in a decade.
Prosecutors are pushing for the mandatory minimum of five years' jail and six strokes for Amirul's offence of consorting with Ikram.
The court heard that Amirul and Ikram were friends. They studied at ITE College West and played football on the same team in 2012. In 2017 or 2018, Ikram was part of a secret society, while Amirul was his subordinate.
AMIRUL'S EX-WIFE ANDÂ REVENGE MOTIVATION
In January 2019, Amirul found out that his ex-wife had been beaten up by a man named "Faris" who was part of a gang.Â
Amirul asked Ikram for advice on how to solve the problem and wanted to take revenge on behalf of his ex-wife.
Ikram decided to obtain a pistol for their safety, as well as to scare Faris and his gang members, to show that Amirul could not be bullied.
Between Feb 18 and Feb 21, 2019, Ikram bought a silver Shooters Sea Hawk pistol and eight bullets from an unidentified man known as Boy JB in Malaysia and took the items back to Singapore.
The pistol and its magazine were later assessed to be manufactured in the Philippines, while the bullets were produced in America. They were serviceable and able to cause injury or death.
In March 2019, Ikram showed Amirul the pistol and the bullets when Amirul went over for dinner. Amirul was shocked and asked Ikram if the pistol was heavy, at which Ikram threw the bag it was in on his bed to demonstrate its weight.
Ikram told Amirul he was not able to "go down and fight" because Ikram had a young daughter to take care of. He thought the pistol was the easiest way to help Amirul, and asked Amirul if he wanted to take the pistol home.
Amirul refused, and the pair began arguing as Amirul expected Ikram to protect him, while Ikram felt this was Amirul's personal matter.
In the months that followed, Amirul told Ikram that members of Faris' gang had confronted him and his brother and said they were "stepping on his head".
Ikram then asked Amirul if he wanted to bring the pistol along for a settlement talk with the gang. Amirul considered the suggestion, but rejected Ikram, saying he had not decided if he wanted to take revenge on Faris and the gang on behalf of his ex-wife.
On Sep 3, 2019, Amirul was stopped at Woodlands Checkpoint when he was returning to Singapore from Malaysia. A truncheon was found in the top box of his motorcycle and a police report was made. Amirul said he took it with him to Malaysia for protection when he went there for a trip with his girlfriend.
About a month later on Oct 8, 2019, Ikram was arrested and the pistol and bullets were seized from his Jurong West flat.
Amirul has one previous conviction in 2013, of lurking house trespass with common intention. He was sentenced to probation at the time.
The prosecutor asked for the mandatory minimum of five years' jail and six strokes of the cane, with a short jail term for the truncheon offence.
The defence agreed on this, asking the court to backdate the term to the date of Amirul's arrest.
He asked if the jail term could be deferred to Dec 15, as Amirul's wife is due to give birth in late October. The judge adjourned sentencing to December.
