Gang leader nabbed while stuck in traffic to be jailed, caned
Christine Tan for The Straits Times
A gang headman who went on the run for over a year after being charged with various offences was caught while he was stuck in traffic.
Muhammad Idris Musbah, 37, was identified on the road by a car salesman who recognised that he was using a vehicle similar to his client's.
As the police approached the car, Idris suddenly tried to drive away but crashed into a lorry and was arrested. He was found with weapons.
On Oct 2, Idris was sentenced to nine years and 12 weeks' jail and 12 strokes of the cane. He was also disqualified from driving for 48 months after his release.
He pleaded guilty to nine charges, including drug offences and driving without a valid licence, with 24 other charges taken into consideration for his sentencing.
Court documents said Idris was the headman of a secret society that operated in a Teck Whye Lane HDB estate.
He had joined the gang about two decades ago in 2000, upon the invitation of an older schoolmate in his secondary school.
On Jan 11, 2022, Idris was part of an unlawful assembly while armed with a deadly weapon, along with 11 other society members.
He had instructed gang members to wait near a cafe at a Jurong East HDB block and be on standby to attack if a settlement talk with a rival gang member failed.
The members had brought along weapons such as a 22cm-long bread knife, a dagger and karambit knives.
Idris subsequently told them the issue was settled and instructed them to leave the area and to not draw attention since they were in a large group. He then left on his motorcycle.
But after some of the gang members had dinner, they took group pictures showing gang signs and flashing the weapons. A member of the public noticed this and called the police. Idris was later traced and arrested.
On March 28, 2022, while he was out on court bail, Idris was again arrested by Central Narcotics Bureau officers at a Bukit Batok HDB block for suspected drug offences.
But he absconded, failing to attend a pre-trial conference on Sept 9 that year. A warrant for his arrest was issued.
On May 28, 2024, about 1½ years after he went on the run, Idris was driving along Admiralty Road in a vehicle he had rented.
Stopping near a junction, he noticed a member of the public pointing at him and police vehicles approaching him.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee told the court: "He panicked as he had driven without a valid licence, and had drugs and items such as a baton, knife, a knuckleduster in his possession."
He subsequently crashed into a lorry in an incident that was captured on videos that went viral and were circulated on several online platforms.
In the video, a man in a grey top is seen confronting Idris in his vehicle at a traffic junction. The man was a car salesman who knew one of his clients had received letters for various offences seven months after she got her car but said she did not commit them.
The salesman, who had spotted Idris' vehicle which had the same licence plate as his client's and looked similar to her vehicle, had tailed him for about 40 minutes, hoping to stop him.
After the police arrested Idris, they found he was linked to a series of petrol theft cases between March and May 2024.
Idris admitted he had pumped petrol at various petrol stations around Singapore and driven off without making payment, stealing a total of $1,183 in petrol.
Handing down the sentence, District Judge Eddy Tham said he hoped Idris would make use of his time in prison to equip himself to lead a law-abiding and productive life after his release.
Judge Tham said: "He cannot change his past, but he definitely has the choice and the power to make a better future."
