Fight That Involved Parang Happened in Boon Lay Due to ‘Revenge’

2018-12-22 , 10:06 am

If you’ve lived in the west of Singapore in the 90s, you’d know that gang fights in the area over mere staring incidents were plentiful: gangs would even “mark” their territories with sprays, and their meeting areas were in coffee shops or playgrounds.

And if you’ve seen the “gangs” before, you’ll know that they’re mostly wannabes who were below 20 years old. Most of them have now grown up to be teachers, lawyers or doctors (no kidding, I know of one who’s a teacher now).

But if you’ve lived in the west only now, you’d only know that there’s a pasar malam in Boon Lay Place.

Now, the only fights in the area were by drunkards, and the gang in the west is just a group of friendly aunties exercising together.

So when there’s a gang fight in the area, you can bet that it’s going to be reported.

Gang Fight of Around 20 People in Boon Lay Place

Lest you’re not aware, Boon Lay Place is rather lively at night, mainly due to the hawker centre that’s open 24 hours and its famous Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak.

Even the NTUC FairPrice in Boon Lay Shopping Centre is open 24 hours.

But around midnight on 21 December 2018, it got “lively” for the wrong reason.

According to reports, a fight occurred along Blk 221A at Boon Lay Place.

This is the place based on Google Maps without the Pasar Malam.

It consists of about 20 people and comprise 2 groups.

As usual, it started with a shouting match, and according to witnesses, it was allegedly for “revenge”.

But what made it bloody (literally) was the wielding of a parang.

What’s a Parang?

Anyone who’s been through NS would know what a parang is, but for the uninitiated, here’s an image of one:

Usually used by soldiers to bash through thick jungle, its primary use is to make housing, furniture and tools. However, it is also commonly used by gang members, though carrying it in public isn’t easy in Singapore as it’s not legal to wield out one in public.

Fight That Involved Parang

After the shouting match, the two groups broke into a fight for about ten minutes, with a man bleeding profusely from a cut, presumably from the parang.

And like a scene from a Channel 8 drama, when someone shouted that two cops were arriving, the gang dispersed.

After the fight, a 30-metre trail of blood was on the scene.

The parang was thrown onto the grass after that.

Four Arrested & More Expected

According to the police, four people had been arrested, but that didn’t include the parang-wielding guy. However, the police expected more arrests as they gave this statement to Mothership.SG:

“On Dec. 21, 2018, at 12.17am, the police were alerted to a case of rioting at Block 221A, Boon Lay Place. A 21-year-old man was conscious when conveyed to NUH. Four male teenagers, aged between 15 and 18, have been arrested in relation to the case. Police investigations are ongoing and more arrests are expected.”

Now, here’s what’s interesting: the “gang members” were between 15 to 18 years old?

I thought youths nowadays just throw bikes down canals, run to the middle of a road to smack his butt or break bus seats for Instagram Stories.

Guess there’s another group of youths that were more…aggressive.

**Breaking the Law Even Before Breaking The Law**

Lest you’re not aware, according to the Penal Code Chapter 224, an assembly of five or more people is considered illegal if they have the intention to commit a criminal act, and would face two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine.

And adding on, if one carries a “deadly weapon”, the penalty would be up to 5 years of imprisonment and/or caning.

Riot is a different case altogether, but even if they’ve not started the fight, they’ve already broken the rule.

So please, youths: do what we used to do when we were younger. If you intend to seek revenge, just be a better person: after all, the best revenge is massive success.