A NIGHT out for four friends ended with one of them being attacked by a gang for no apparent reason.

The victim was taken to hospital bloodied and with bruises on his body and face, a swollen forehead, and cuts under his right eye and lips.

The attack has left the friends in shock and fear, and spurred one of them to write to The New Paper.

The 31-year-old safety coordinator at an engineering firm, who wanted to be known only as Ms Nathan, said the attack happened at Boat Quay on Sunday morning.

She had spent Saturday night clubbing with her brother and cousin, both 18-year-old national servicemen, and another male friend, a self-employed 26-year-old.

Ms Nathan said: 'It was about 5am, and we were walking to a nearby coffee shop for supper.

'As we turned into Canton Street, a group of about 15 youths suddenly surrounded us.

'One of them said the area was their territory and that we were not supposed to patronise their area or make any noise there.'

Ms Nathan said they appeared to be aged about 17 to 20.

She claimed that when they tried to ignore them and walk away, the youths hurled vulgarities at them. She alleged that one of them suddenly punched her 26-year-old friend.

'The punch landed him on the ground,' Ms Nathan claimed.

'Suddenly, the whole group attacked him, kicking and punching.

'One of them even took out a knife, and the rest hit him with knuckle-busters and belt buckles.

'I was horrified. There was blood everywhere.'

Ms Nathan screamed for help but no one came to their aid.

Her brother and cousin tried to plead with the group, but were allegedly threatened with knives.

'One of them walked towards me when I screamed at them to stop, and my brother quickly pulled me away.'

Ms Nathan said that the gang left a few minutes later.

She helped her friend up and they made their way towards a nearby McDonald's outlet.

She alleged: 'As we were walking there, the gang came out of nowhere again, and charged at us with bottles and poles. My injured friend and I ran towards McDonald's while my brother and cousin ran in the opposite direction.'

She said that when they reached McDonald's, the group had disappeared.

She called her brother and cousin on their handphones to join them at the 24-hour outlet.

The boys had managed to escape.

At McDonald's, Ms Nathan said some passers-by helped by offering them water and ice to stop her friend's bleeding.

They also called the police and for an ambulance.

Her friend was taken to the Singapore General Hospital, where his right eye and lower lip needed eight to nine stitches.

Ms Nathan said: 'His head was so swollen he looked like a luohan fish.

'There were blue-black marks all over his body.

'Since he was discharged, he has been unable to eat or drink because the wound on his lower lip hurts too much.'

The friend was so traumatised that he refused to be photographed and was reluctant to be interviewed.

Ms Nathan said he was also against her going public about the attack, but she felt the incident needed to be told as a cautionary tale to others.

But she, too, did not want her full name used because she was afraid of getting into 'more trouble'.

Ms Nathan's friend, who wanted to be known only as Mr Thango, said yesterday that he has not been able to speak clearly or eat because of his lip injury.

'I have only been able to drink soup slowly, and my head is still in severe pain,' he said.

'I hardly go clubbing and the one time I did, this had to happen. I don't think I'll be going to Boat Quay for a long time.'

The police confirmed that they were informed of a fight at Canton Street at 6.15am on Sunday and are investigating.

This article was first published in The New Paper on July 2, 2008.