Drunk man killed 71-year-old man in back alley, gets jail and caning

SINGAPORE: After finishing his night shift at a food and beverage outlet, a man drank copious amounts of alcohol, assaulted his private-hire driver before getting into an argument with an old man.

Mohamed Serajudeen Mohamed Yusoff, a 33-year-old Singaporean, assaulted the 71-year-old victim and stomped forcefully on him when he fell to the ground.

The elderly man was taken to hospital, where he died 10 days later.

Serajudeen was sentenced on Thursday (Oct 8) to 15 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to one count of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Three other charges for his aggressive behaviour towards other people that night were taken into consideration.

THE CASE

Serajudeen was an operations manager at a food and beverage establishment that was not named in court papers.

He ended a shift at about 10.30am on Nov 19, 2024 and drank alcohol in various rounds by himself and with friends.

He was heavily intoxicated, slurring and dozing off, and his friends asked him to return home to rest before his next shift.

They helped him book a private-hire vehicle, which he boarded at about 2.55pm at Block 123, Serangoon North Avenue 1.

Serajudeen became agitated and scolded the driver. He also vomited in the car.

The driver stopped the vehicle along Serangoon North Avenue 2 and told Serajudeen that he was cancelling the ride.

Serajudeen got out but continued arguing, cursing and opening the car doors. He also kicked the driver hard on his leg.

When the driver said he would call the police, Serajudeen said he would beat him if he did so.

Serajudeen then walked away towards the shops at Block 151, Serangoon North Avenue 2.

He loitered aimlessly about the corridor for about half an hour, walking unsteadily and ended up outside a supermarket.

The victim, Mr Andrews John, made physical contact with Serajudeen outside the supermarket.

He stopped and turned around to speak to Serajudeen, but this escalated into an argument.

They moved to the back alley of the block to continue their argument.

While the victim was gesticulating in Serajudeen's face, Serajudeen suddenly punched his head.

ASSAULT ON VICTIM

He also pushed the man backwards and continued punching him, causing the victim to fall backwards onto the concrete.

Serajudeen rained punches on the victim as he lay there, causing his head to hit the ground repeatedly.

He then stomped forcefully on the old man's upper body about eight times before walking away.

The victim lay motionless on the ground and a passerby called the police.

Meanwhile, Serajudeen threatened a passerby: "You want to find trouble with me? You want to die? You want to die!"

He was arrested the next day on Nov 20, 2024.

The victim suffered a severe head injury with bleeding in the brain and extensive bruising. Despite medical intervention, he died on Nov 29, 2024.

Serajudeen was assessed at the Institute of Mental Health and found to have alcohol use disorder.

However, his actions were goal-directed at the time and he was not of unsound mind.

The prosecution sought at least 15 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane, saying this was the "epitome of senseless violence".

"They were strangers whose paths had crossed just moments earlier," said Deputy Public Prosecutors Tay Jia En and Cheronne Lim.

They added that Serajudeen has a long history of violence-related convictions dating back to 2017. In particular, he committed them while voluntarily intoxicated.

Defence lawyer Quek Liuyong from IRB Law sought nine years and nine months' jail with five strokes of the cane.

"The accused wishes to say that he is very sorry for causing a loss of life," said Mr Quek.

"He understands that nothing he can do will bring the deceased back to life. However, he wishes to emphasise to the honourable court that he never intended to cause the loss of life and he will live to regret his action for the rest of his life."

He said his client worked in prata chain Srisun Express since 2016 and was promoted to operations manager after eight-and-a-half years.

He was the main person supporting his parents by 2023, as all his other siblings had moved out by then.

Mr Quek said his client "vows that he would never ever touch alcohol again".

For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, an offender can be jailed for life, or for up to 20 years' jail and a fine or caning.