Man gets 15 years’ jail, caning for drunken ‘senseless’ killing of 71-year-old man in Serangoon

SINGAPORE – A heavily intoxicated 31-year-old man and a 71-year-old man bumped into each other outside a supermarket in Serangoon North one afternoon in 2024, sparking a quarrel between the two strangers.

They moved their dispute to a back alley, where the younger man, who was almost a head taller, rained punches on the older man and stomped on him.

The victim died in hospital 10 days later from severe head injuries.

On Oct 8, Mohamed Serajudeen Mohamed Yusoff, who is now 33, was sentenced to 15 years’ jail and 10 strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for killing John Andrews on Nov 19, 2024.

“This is the epitome of senseless violence,” the prosecution said in sentencing submissions.

Three other charges were considered during sentencing. These related to offences he committed against two other individuals before and after his attack on Andrews.

In sentencing him, High Court judge Andre Maniam considered as aggravating factors the vulnerability of the victim and the fact that Serajudeen, who has a history of alcohol-induced aggression, had drunk excessively earlier that day.

He rejected defence arguments that the victim getting into an argument meant he was less vulnerable.

“Not only did the accused strike the first blow, he struck all the blows,” the judge added.

At the time, Serajudeen worked as an operations manager at a food and beverage establishment.

He started drinking after he ended his shift at about 10.30am on Nov 19, 2024. He had three to four cans of beer alone, and later met two friends to drink copious amounts of whiskey.

His friends helped him book a private-hire vehicle to return home. But he became agitated, scolded the driver, and vomited in the vehicle.

When the driver stopped along Serangoon North Avenue 2 and said he was cancelling the ride, Serajudeen hurled vulgarities at the driver, kicked him, and threatened to beat him if he called the police.

He then walked away from the driver and loitered around some shops at Blk 151 Serangoon North Avenue 2.

Outside a supermarket, Serajudeen and the victim bumped into each other, and the older man stopped and turned around to speak to him.

The two men then continued their argument in the back alley of the block.

Dashcam footage from a parked vehicle showed the victim gesticulating in Serajudeen’s face before the offender suddenly punched him in the head and pushed him to the ground.

Serajudeen then continued punching the elderly man, causing his head to repeatedly hit the concrete ground.

The assailant then stomped on the victim’s upper body about eight times before he walked away.

As he was leaving the back alley, Serajudeen threatened a passerby who was walking towards him.

He later called his manager at work to tell him that he had beaten up someone and that an ambulance had taken the person away.

He was arrested at home in the early hours the next day.

On Oct 8, Serajudeen’s lawyer, Quek Liuyong, said his client was very sorry for causing a loss of life.

Quek accepted that the victim was an elderly man, but argued that his actions showed he was ready for an argument, and was thus not in the most vulnerable class of victims.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En disagreed that the victim’s actions lessened his vulnerability, and pointed out that Serajudeen stood at least one head taller than the victim and had landed the first blow.

The prosecutor also highlighted Serajudeen’s history of committing violent offences while voluntarily intoxicated.

In 2023, Serajudeen was jailed seven months for assaulting a 54-year-old man who told him he should pay for a bottle of water before drinking from it. He was also given four weeks’ jail for verbally abusing a police officer.

In 2022, he was fined $4,000 for causing a public disturbance in a residential area while intoxicated.