SINGAPORE, Oct. 5 -- A Singaporean gang leader who spent more than a year evading arrest has been sentenced to nine years and 12 weeks in jail and 12 strokes of the cane after being caught while stuck in traffic, The Straits Times reported on Thursday.

Muhammad Idris Musbah, 37, was recognised by a car salesman who noticed he was driving a vehicle resembling one owned by a client.

When police moved in, Idris tried to flee but crashed into a lorry and was found carrying weapons, including a baton, knife and knuckleduster.

The court heard that Idris, who led a secret society operating in a Teck Whye Lane housing estate, had been involved in gang-related violence, drug offences and petrol thefts.

He pleaded guilty to nine charges, with a...