Two charged over Boon Lay attack; victim still in hospital
Two men were charged in court on Saturday morning (April 9) for an alleged slashing that took place at a wedding ritual at Boon Lay Drive on Wednesday.
Muhammad Sajid Saleem, 20, and Niswan Thiruchelvam, 19, appeared before a district court while in remand via video link to have the charges read out to them.
The duo are accused of using a bread knife to attack Mr Praveen Raj Chanthiran at an open-air carpark of 175 Boon Lay Drive on Wednesday, according to court documents.
Sajid and Thiruchelvam appeared together on a screen in the court room, dressed in white; their faces without expression.
If found guilty, they can be jailed, fined and caned. They were not represented in court.
They were remanded and will return to court on April 14.
On Wednesday at 5pm, the police received multiple calls for assistance with reports about the attack. The pair were believed to have thrown away their weapons before the police arrived at he scene.
An islandwide manhunt for the duo ensued and they were found on Thursday near in Woodlands with the help of police and surveillance cameras.
The accused were taken back to the incident site on Friday afternoon to walk the grounds with police investigators.
The attack on Wednesday disrupted the wedding rituals of bride Yuroshini Josephine, 25, and groom Emmanuel Ravi, 26, who told The Straits Times on Friday that the victims were close friends of the family.
The groom added that he knew of one of the alleged attackers but not very well.
Mr Saran was discharged from hospital on Friday morning and suffered a 8cm gash on the side of his head. Mr Praveen remains in hospital and will undergo multiple operations after suffering some 12 cuts on his head and limbs.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now