Indian restaurant owner convicted of attacking rival eatery employee in S'pore

The owner of a 100-year old Indian restaurant in Singapore was found guilty on Friday of hiring a hitman to attack with knife an employee from a rival eatery.

The owner of Zam Zam, 49-year-old Zackeer Abbass Khan, conspired with several others to have Victory restaurant supervisor Liakath Ali Mohamed Ibrahim slashed and scarred, reported Channel News Asia.

He had instructed his business associate Anwer Ambiya Kadir Maideen, 50, to procure an attack on the victim, offering money to get the job done.

Anwer then hired a hitman, Joshua Navindran Surainthiran, to slash the victim's face with a knife on August 26, 2015.

The victim was left with a permanent scar, and Joshua was sentenced to six-and-a-half years' jail and six strokes of the cane in 2016 for several charges in relation to the case.

Both the eateries are among the oldest Indian-origin food-service businesses serving a wide range of South Indian dishes including biryani and murtabak, a non-veg filled pratha, a popular pan-fried chapati-type serving in Singapore and Malaysia originating from South Indian cuisines.

District Judge Mathew Joseph found both Zackeer and Anwer guilty of conspiring to voluntarily cause grievous hurt after a long-running trial, saying the prosecution had proven its case.

Zackeer was convicted of an additional charge of criminal intimidation, while Anwer faces other charges of being in a secret society.

Judge Joseph noted that the case was all about business rivalry.

"Business rivalry is a common occurrence," he said. "It's part of everyday commerce and it is to be taken in its stride. In the case of Victory and Zam Zam restaurants, both are household names in Singapore," the judge said, adding that their rivalry has spanned almost 100 years.

"This is not surprising as murtabak is a very popular and tasty food item eaten at all times of the day and night in Singapore."