A brawl that took place inside a Sim Lim Square electronics shop has led to multiple parties being taken to court and some are facing potential jail time and fines. The events that led to the charges started with a man being detained for an accusation of stealing headphones and the situation quickly escalated into a full-scale fight that involved numerous individuals.
The attention of onlookers was brought upon the store when they noticed that there was a commotion going on inside. They looked in to see an employee of the shop attempting to detain a person that he accused of stealing earphones. The alleged thief, Danial Ryan Salleh, was struggling with the employee and challenging store personnel to a fight when things took a turn for the worse.
One of the onlookers, Mizuta Teruhito, started to record the incident with his mobile phone and was suddenly attacked by the man that was under detention. That is when Tan Peng Wong, a partner in a nearby electronics shop, and a group of onlookers set upon the alleged thief in order to stop him from attacking the man that was recording the incident. Tan was later charged and pled guilty to being a member of an unlawful assembly with the fine being set at $5,000.
The incident was captured on close circuit TV cameras that were in the store and around the scene. The video shows the shoplifter punching Mizuta and then Tan and the other onlookers jumping in to attack the assailant. Under attack from multiple parties, the attacker/alleged thief goes to the floor, at which point two of the men break off their attack. However, Mizuta and another two individuals continued their assault on the man even after he lay helpless on the ground.
Tan and Mizuta are the only two that have been to court in connection with the incident with Mizuta being jailed for a month and Tan receiving a fine of $5,000. Charges against the other three individuals are still pending.