On the early morning of 31 May 2001, 17-year-old national footballer Sulaiman bin Hashim (4 June 1983 – 31 May 2001), along with his two friends were attacked by a group of eight youths from gang 369, known as Salakau, as they were walking along South Bridge Road, Clarke Quay, Singapore.
The case was classified as murder[3] and within the next 13 months, six of the gang members (including the mastermind) involved were arrested and eventually sentenced to jail and caning for culpable homicide, rioting and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
Led by 21-year-old Norhisham bin Mohamad Dahlan (nicknamed "Baby"), the Salakau gang members crossed the road, approaching the three boys from behind.
However, before they could reply, Norhisham proceeded to punch one of the boys, Sulaiman, and assaulted him together with the other 7 gang members in front of several witnesses.
[5] An autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr Paul Chui revealed that it was the two stab wounds - one to his neck and the other to his chest - that killed Sulaiman.
Shariff, who was the son of former Singapore national team captain Samad Allapitchay, was hospitalised for his injury and he survived; he was discharged on 2 June 2001.
In his words, JC Tay reiterated in his judgement as he ordered Hasik to be locked away for life, "Those who feel victorious in being vicious and who have no qualms about the annual celebration of one's birth culminating in the untimely death of another will have to spend all subsequent birthdays within prison walls until such time as they are eligible for parole.
This changed on 20 August 1997 after Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah, a perpetrator of the Oriental Hotel murder who was serving 18 years' jail and a consecutive life sentence (in total 38 years' imprisonment) with caning for robbery with hurt resulting in death, and kidnapping, respectively, appealed for a concurrent aggregate sentence.
[20] The reduction of Hasik's charge, as well as those of Fahmi and Ridzwan, left both Fazely and Khairul the sole two members to stand trial for murder; they chose to plead not guilty.
Both the boys, in their defence, stated they did not have the intention to murder Sulaiman, and that they only tagged along, thinking that the gang's intention was to go beat up rival gang members like they usually did and that they had never used weapons during their previous fights, claiming that they were not aware until the attack that their leader Norhisham and two others, Syamsul Ariffin and Sharulhawzi were armed with knives (they were the ones who stabbed Sulaiman during the attack).
[30][31] The following were the convictions and sentences received by the gang members of Salakau (except for the two absconded gang members Syamsul Ariffin and Sharulhawzi) for their part in Sulaiman's death, sequentially from the heaviest to the lightest sentence: The case of Sulaiman bin Hashim was re-enacted in crime series True Files.
It aired as the thirteenth and final episode of the show's fourth season on 25 June 2006, depicting the case and placing its focus especially on the court proceedings against both Fazely and Khairul for murder.
In the episode, the real-life photographs of the apprehended culprits (some of whom were released at this point of time) involved were withheld to protect their identities.
[2] Shariff, who survived the stabbing from the attack, went on to continue playing football, establishing his own career and even briefly represented the Singapore senior national team in a friendly match against Myanmar.
A 2021 article from The Smart Local named the case of Sulaiman's murder as one of the 9 most terrible crimes that brought shock to Singapore in the 2000s.
[35] As of 15 June 2021, with the exception of Hasik, the other gang members who were jailed for their part in Sulaiman's death are confirmed to be released from prison after serving out their respective sentences (between 3 and 10 years).