THREE men were each jailed for three years and ordered to be caned six times for brutally assaulting a man who choked on his blood and died.

Herry Indra Putra Muhamad Noor, 32, Ismail Salam, 27, and Abdul Latiff Haji Hussainar, 39, were initially charged with murdering Mr Ng Hui Khiam, 34, at a void deck of Block 217 Bukit Batok Street 21 last July 21. But the charge was later reduced to causing grievous hurt.

The three admitted punching, kicking and stomping Mr Ng on his face and body, causing his face to break into fragments.

A district court heard that Ismail and Abdul Latif were quarrelling near the staircase landing at the void deck of Block 217 at about 4am when Mr Ng, who lived nearby, told them to tone down.

Abdul Latiff told Mr Ng to mind his own business and that he and the others were trying to settle a family problem. After Mr Ng had left, Ismail, Abdul Latiff and Herry, together with Herry's fiancee and Latiff's wife, continued talking.

This escalated into a quarrel, with Herry and Abdul Latiff shoving each other.

A few minutes later, Mr Ng returned and scolded them again for making so much noise. The three men warned him not to get involved.

This escalated to a shouting match and a punch-up. Mr Ng fell backwards, hit his head against the wall and fell to the ground.

When he tried to get up, Latiff used his right foot to stomp his face, and continued kicking him several times even when he was down.

Herry and Ismail joined in the assault and rained blows and kicks on Mr Ng. Pressing for a deterrent sentence on Thursday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amarjit Singh said the injuries were centred on the victim's face.

The repeated assault and severe trauma to the face led to severe bleeding and the victim choking on his own blood.

District Judge Bala Reddy told the trio that they knew that the victim was defenceless and overpowered by them.

He agreed with the prosecution that they deserved a stiff sentence for the senseless violence inflicted on the victim.

Each of them could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined or caned.