The man’s request to overturn his murder conviction was denied by the Court of Appeal on Thursday ( 15 May ) following a 2019 fatal fight at Orchard Towers.
After being found guilty of murder last year, Tan Sen Yang, then 33, was sentenced to life in prison and 12 strokes of the cane.
Satheesh Noel Gobidass, 31, died from a neck attack wound after a battle at Orchard Towers in July 2019.
When Mr. Satheesh was punched three occasions with a karambit knife in his hand, Tan was discovered to have inflicted the fatal injuries.
On Thursday, Justices Tay Yong Kwang, Belinda Ang, and Woo Bih Li upheld his judgment and sentence.
The deadly blow to Mr. Satheesh’s chest was an unexpected or an accidental blast, according to Tan’s attorneys Chooi Jing Yen, Nichol Yeo, and Qua Bi Qi.
Mr. Chooi claimed Tan intended to attack the face in opposition because he thought doing so would prevent significant harm.
However, in the “dynamic position” of the fight, Mr. Satheesh’s neck was struck.
This explanation was overwhelmingly rejected by the judges.
What harm was intended and what was unexpected or sudden must be considered with common sense in a situation like the present case, according to Justice Tay, who delivered the panel’s decision.
There is no need to carefully examine exactly which area of ( Mr. Satheesh’s ) anatomy was intended to be attacked.
There was” no cause for fear” that Tan intended to seriously inflict a wound to that area of the body because of the way he had held the karambit blade and the fact that he had targeted the victim’s mind area.
In the circumstances of this case, Justice Tay continued,” The chest and the mouth are not different areas of the brain.”
Before the deadly altercation at around 6.30am on July 2, 2019, Tan’s party had been leaving a club on the next floor when they got into a battle with some of Mr. Satheesh’s companions.
Tan allegedly brandished the karambit blade in the middle of the dispute, injuring two members of the foe group’s members on the faces and hand.
After that, Mr. Satheesh confronted a part of Tan’s team on the ground floor of Orchard Towers while he was alone.
Closed-circuit tv cameras captured this image, including Tan leaving the building after returning and joining the assault on Mr. Satheesh.