SINGAPORE: Six young men who filmed themselves weaving between vehicles and performing bicycle stunts on Orchard Road were each ordered to serve nine months of probation on Thursday (Jan 9).
Two of the cyclists cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act as they were 17 at the time of the incident in May 2024.
The remaining four cyclists are: Ahmad Noordinie Mohamed Noorshah, 19; Muhammad Irfan Muhamad Noor, 19; Muhaidy Marhady, 20; and Muhammad Aliyul Qadry Mohamad Razak, 20.
The group previously admitted to flouting cycling rules.
On May 10, 2024, they met at Bukit Panjang MRT station and cycled along Bukit Timah Road, Stevens Road, Orchard Road and Lau Pa Sat to Jurong, where they dispersed at about 4am.
While along Orchard Road, one of the 17-year-olds recorded a video of the group cycling and sent it to Aliyul, who uploaded it to TikTok.
The video captured Noordinie performing two wheelies, Aliyul cycling with both hands off the handlebars, and various members of the group riding on the second and third lanes of the road.
Aliyul and the 17-year-old cyclist also rode between stationary vehicles at one point, with the teenager still recording.
The video also captured the group stopping inside a yellow box at a traffic light.
The police received a hotline tip-off about a group of cyclists riding dangerously on Orchard Road at about 11pm that night.
All of them pleaded guilty to failing to cycle on the left side of the road, in combination with varying offences related to unsafe riding.
Aliyul had the most charges at four counts. The 17-year-old who filmed their antics had three charges, and the remaining four had two charges each.
On Thursday, the prosecution did not object to the probation orders as recommended by the probation officers.
The young men received nine months of probation, curfews to be indoors from 10pm to 6am, and between 40 and 60 hours of community service.
Additionally, Irfan was ordered to be placed on electronic monitoring for four months or until he enlists in National Service, whichever is earlier.
The court heard that he had issues observing the curfew during the trial period when he was being assessed for his suitability for probation.
Their family members were bonded S$5,000 (US$3,650) to ensure good behaviour during probation, with the judge reminding them to hold the young men accountable and support them through probation.
District Judge Kok Shu En told the young men to treat probation as an opportunity to learn how to make good decisions.
“I hope you appreciate from this whole experience what a poor decision it was for all of you to do what you did that night,” she said.
“You put yourselves at risk of harm, and if anything happens to you, your family members are the ones who will go through the heart ache.”
Their actions put other people at risk as well, and it was very fortunate that no one was hurt, the judge added.
She also urged them not to compare their sentences, as each young man was assessed individually and given probation terms based on their circumstances.
