Singaporeans arrested for JB murder: Group had brawled inside nightclub before victim was stabbed

The four Singaporeans arrested last week over their suspected involvement in the alleged murder of a man in Johor Bahru were part of a brawl that broke out at a nightclub in the Southkey area, reported Shin Min Daily News on Sunday (March 22). 

The 32-year-old victim had been attacked at about 5am on March 14 and died in hospital from a stab wound to his neck, according to the Johor police. 

On March 19, the Singapore police assisted their Malaysian counterparts in arresting three men, aged between 23 and 29, as well as a 27-year-old woman at various locations. A Malaysian court had issued warrants for their arrests.

A fifth suspect had been arrested while trying to leave Johor on March 18. 

According to the Shin Min report on Sunday, the victim is also from Singapore and had visited a nightclub called Aston Club Southkey along with the five suspects. 

The owner of the club, located on the third floor of Pusat Komersial Bayu Tasek, told the Chinese evening paper his staff recalled that the group had consumed alcohol before an argument started. 

"As the club environment was noisy and the music was deafening, we don't know what they were arguing about," the owner reportedly said. 

He said the disagreement later turned physical, with people shoving each other. They were asked to leave the club, and the brawl continued on the ground floor. 

'Extremely chaotic'

A security guard who witnessed the fracas on the street said he immediately alerted his supervisor. 

"They started fighting from the nightclub's exit, shouting and chasing each other. They fought till the electronics store, and a man suddenly fell on the ground," he recounted. 

"The scene was extremely chaotic and I was very scared. At the end, I saw a lot of blood on the ground." 

The report stated that the man had collapsed on the walkway outside an outlet of furniture retailer Courts, which is nearby.

The security guard added that the group quickly dispersed after the man fell, and the victim was taken to hospital by another person who appeared to be his friend. 

A security supervisor told Shin Min he arrived at the scene about five minutes after receiving the report, but the incident had already occurred. 

"My colleagues saw them fighting, but because of safety considerations, they didn't dare to stop them or film with their phones. There are occasionally disputes among drunk patrons but usually it's just shouting at each other," he said. 

Johor police chief Ab Rahaman earlier said that none of the suspects have criminal records. 

If found guilty of murder, the suspects could face the death penalty or between 30 and 40 years in jail with caning. 

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com