First four arrests of Salakau gang members Following the footballer's murder, police investigations were conducted and the police soon established the identities of the eight youths. Within a month after the incident, four of the Salakau secret society members were arrested by the police. On 15 June 2001, 21-year-old
Muhamad Hasik bin Sahar became the first gang member to be arrested. 10 days later, on 25 June 2001, three more youths - 20-year-old
Fazely bin Rahmat (nicknamed "Pendek"), 20-year-old
Mohammad Ridzwan bin Samad (nicknamed "Chemong") and 18-year-old
Mohammad Fahmi bin Abdul Shukor - were arrested for their involvement in the murder. They were all charged with murder, which carries the
mandatory death penalty under Singapore law. However, four other gang members of Salakau, consisting of Norhisham, Syamsul Ariffin and two other youths, 19-year-old
Khairul Famy bin Mohamed Samsudin (nicknamed "Fami") and
Sharulhawzi bin Ramly (also spelt
Sharulhawazi bin Ramy in some sources; nicknamed "Boy Sharul" or simply "Sharul"), whose age was unspecified, had fled Singapore and they were wanted by the police.
Khairul's arrest On 11 September 2001, after spending 3 months on the run, Khairul was arrested in
Batam,
Indonesia by the Indonesian police. He was extradited back to Singapore on the same day itself, and after his return to Singapore, Khairul became the fifth gang member of Salakau to be charged with murder together with Hasik, Fazely, Fahmi and Ridzwan. The remaining three suspects were believed to be hiding in
Malaysia.
Fahmi and Ridzwan's sentences Later on, the charges against two of the five gang members, Fahmi and Ridzwan, were amended to lesser charges of rioting and for abetting their fellow Salakau gang members to riot under section 147 of the
Penal Code. The pair, who were tasked to look for rival gang members whom they intended to attack on the day of Sulaiman's murder, pleaded guilty to the amended charges and they were being dealt with in the Subordinate Courts; on 22 November 2001, Fahmi and Ridzwan were each sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment and 6 strokes of the cane for their roles in the fatal attack of Sulaiman.
Reduction of Hasik's murder charge: Hasik's sentence Following the sentencing and incarceration of Fahmi and Ridzwan, the murder charge against Hasik was later amended to a lesser charge of
culpable homicide not amounting to murder (or
manslaughter), and he pleaded guilty to the amended charge. On 9 May 2002, Hasik was sentenced to
life imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane by then-
Judicial Commissioner (JC)
Tay Yong Kwang; the life sentence was backdated to the date of Hasik's arrest. When he was 16, Hasik was once charged with and convicted of causing hurt with dangerous weapons, and sentenced to reformative training in 1996. When delivering his verdict, having made reference to Hasik's criminal records, JC Tay felt that Hasik
has not learnt his lesson even after his previous experience in court, and now that he has committed a crime of greater violence and an innocent life has been lost as a result, which compelled the judge into committing Hasik to life-long incarceration. 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''." At the time of Hasik's sentencing, it was more than four years since the changes to the definition of life imprisonment under the law. Originally, on and before 20 August 1997, life imprisonment means a fixed jail term of 20 years in prison, and with good behaviour, an early release would be granted after serving at least two-thirds of the life sentence (13 years and 4 months). 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. The Court of Appeal dismissed Abdul Nasir's appeal and decided that for all future cases after that date, the interpretation of life imprisonment would be a term of incarceration for the rest of the convicted prisoner's natural life. Since Hasik committed the crime of culpable homicide, which warrants either life imprisonment or not more than 10 years in prison with/without caning, on 31 May 2001 (3 years and 9 months after 20 August 1997), by order of this above ruling by the Court of Appeal in 1997, Hasik's sentence would mean that he should be placed behind bars for the rest of his remaining lifespan unless he was suitable for release upon the review of his conduct after the expiration of at least 20 years of his sentence (in other words, natural life imprisonment). Reportedly, Hasik was said to have broke into tears as he heard the verdict. He later filed an appeal against the life sentence, but it was turned down by the Court of Appeal on 27 August 2002. 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. If found guilty of murder, Fazely and Khairul would be sentenced to death. ==Murder trial of Fazely and Khairul==