Wanted man who was seen forcefully driving car out of traffic in Marsiling handed 11 new charges

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Wong Shiying

SINGAPORE - A wanted man who was caught on camera trying to forcefully drive his car out of stationary traffic was on May 30 handed 11 new charges.

Muhammad Idris Musbah, 36, who tested positive for drugs after he was arrested on May 28, is being investigated for driving without a valid licence and using a deregistered vehicle, among other offences.

According to one of the new charges he faces, he allegedly endangered human life by trying to manoeuvre his car out of traffic and hitting a lorry on May 28.

Idris, who is now remanded in prison, also faces two counts of carrying weapons in public on May 28, namely a knife and a black knuckle duster.

Of his remaining eight new charges, four are for drug-related offences and four for being a member of an unlawful society.

According to court records, Idris was in September 2020 charged with being armed with a knife while being part of an unlawful assembly.

He told the court on May 30 that he will not be pleading guilty to this charge.

He was supposed to attend a hearing on matters relating to his warrant of arrest on April 19. This was rescheduled to Oct 18 and has since been cancelled.

Videos circulating online of the May 28 incident showed a man in grey top confronting a dark-coloured car, which had stopped at a traffic junction.

The car is seen trying to manoeuvre its way out, colliding first with a lorry and then a car.

Two uniformed police officers are seen hitting the driver's window and subsequently pulling a man out of the car and subduing him while face down on the road.

A woman whose car has the same licence plate number as the one Idris was seen driving in online videos told The Straits Times on May 29 that she had received letters for various offences she did not commit.

These included for speeding and not obeying parking signs between April and May.

The man in grey seen in viral videos of the May 28 incident was later identified as Mr Maurice Nadarajan, a salesman at A Star Motor, the car dealer the woman bought her car from.

He had spotted the car in Yishun and tailed it for 40 minutes. He tried to stop the car by standing in front of it and suffered some cuts on his arm and a back injury during the scuffle.

The police said on May 29 that they received a call for assistance at the junction of Admiralty Road and Marsiling Lane at about 5.50pm. They arrested Idris at the scene.

It was later established that Idris was wanted by the police and Central Narcotics Bureau for multiple offences.

A baton, a knuckle duster, a pocket knife, a bank card, seven cash cards, substances believed to be controlled drugs, and drug utensils were seized from the vehicle.

Idris may face more charges after investigations are completed.