Ah nehs...

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Man allegedly duped Chubb Insurance Singapore into paying out over $8.9 million in false claims​

Samuel Devaraj

June 1, 2023

SINGAPORE – A man who worked for Chubb Insurance Singapore has been charged with multiple counts of cheating for allegedly duping the company into paying out more than $8.9 million in false claims.
Suyandi, who goes by one name, is said to have deceived the company into processing close to 300 false claims over a seven-year period, with the monies deposited to third-party bank accounts.
He has also been accused of cheating the insurance company into effecting payments of more than $1.6 million to third-party bank accounts, by purportedly creating fraudulent e-mails on 58 occasions between July 2010 and August 2016.
The 45-year-old Singapore permanent resident was on Thursday hit with 22 charges, including seven for cheating and eight for forgery for the purpose of cheating.
He is also facing four charges of falsification of accounts and three for acquiring the benefits of criminal conduct.
According to court documents, Suyandi had deceived Chubb Insurance Singapore, which was previously known as Ace Insurance, into processing 297 false claim payments of more than $8.9m to third-party bank accounts from May 2010 to September 2017.
In a statement on Wednesday, the police said that investigations showed that about $55,600 were allegedly laundered from the third-party bank accounts to Suyandi’s personal bank accounts.

In court on Thursday, Suyandi, who no longer works for the company, indicated that he has engaged a lawyer and intends to plead guilty.
He is expected to return to court on July 14.
If found guilty of cheating, Suyandi can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. Forgery for the purpose of cheating carries the same penalties.
If found guilty of falsification of accounts, he can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined or both. Money laundering carries the same penalties.

 

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Woman orchestrated scheme to wrest control of restaurant from sister-in-law, says judge​

The High Court made this finding in dismissing an application to wind up Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant and Cafe. PHOTO: ST FILE

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

June 2, 2023

SINGAPORE – One of two sisters-in-law who owned a popular vegetarian restaurant in Little India had orchestrated a scheme to make their company insolvent so that she could wrest control of the business from the other woman.
The High Court made this finding in dismissing an application to wind up the company, Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant and Cafe, which is owned by Madam Chandra Maha Lakshmi and her husband’s sister, Madam Rajeswary Sinan.
The application was filed by a creditor who had paid $20,000 to Madam Lakshmi, purportedly in exchange for shares in the company.
In a judgment issued last week, Senior Judge Andrew Ang said it was clear that the winding-up application was not a genuine attempt by the creditor to recover an investment.
Rather, it was motivated by the “collateral and improper purpose” of advancing Madam Lakshmi’s scheme to wrest control of the restaurant from the company and from Madam Rajeswary, he said.
The restaurant was taken over by Gokul-Raas, a company owned by Madam Lakshmi and her husband Rauinderan Sinan, in September 2021.
Gokul Vegetarian was set up in 2003 by Madam Rajeswary and Mr Rauinderan, who were directors and equal shareholders.

Mr Rauinderan later transferred his shares to Madam Lakshmi, who also replaced him as director.
According to Madam Rajeswary, the three initially ran the restaurant in Upper Dickson Road as a “close-knit family business”.
She alleged that from 2017, Madam Lakshmi gained more control over the business.
Madam Rajeswary claimed that when she asked to inspect the accounting and financial records, Madam Lakshmi made counter-accusations against her.
On the other hand, Madam Lakshmi alleged that Madam Rajeswary was “never involved with” the running of the restaurant and would be absent for days and even months at a time.
Madam Lakshmi claimed that her sister-in-law’s allegations of being denied access to the accounts were simply a means of retaliation against a proposal to reduce Madam Rajeswary’s salary.
What was not disputed was that on April 21, 2021, Madam Lakshmi and Mr Rauinderan took steps to remove Madam Rajeswary as a director of Gokul Vegetarian.
Madam Rajeswary challenged her removal and served court papers on Madam Lakshmi on Aug 19, 2021.

The next day, an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for the company was called.
Meanwhile, on Sept 1, 2021, the restaurant’s landlord, 78 Capital, sent a letter demanding payment of rental arrears amounting to $43,795.12.
At the EGM on Sept 4, 2021, Madam Lakshmi proposed issuing shares to a company called Adcrop, ostensibly to raise funds which Gokul Vegetarian badly needed.
This was opposed by Madam Rajeswary’s proxy.
Despite knowing that no valid resolution was passed, Adcrop’s director Arvind Sharma handed $20,000 to Madam Lakshmi, who used it to pay off part of the arrears. No shares were ever issued.
On Sept 15, 2021, the landlord issued another letter to Gokul Vegetarian, giving notice that it intended to terminate the tenancy over the outstanding unpaid rent. This letter was not copied to either woman.
Two days later, on Sept 17, 2021, Madam Lakshmi signed a fresh tenancy agreement with the landlord on behalf of Gokul-Raas for the same premises.
She then applied to the relevant authorities to change the name of the restaurant to Gokul-Raas.
On Sept 28, 2021, Adcrop served a legal demand on Gokul Vegetarian for repayment of the $20,000. Madam Rajeswary was not notified.
The demand was not met and on Oct 27, 2021, Adcrop filed the winding-up application.
Madam Rajeswary said she found out only when she returned to the restaurant on Dec 2, 2021 – the day after the court reinstated her as a director – that Gokul Vegetarian’s tenancy had been terminated.
Represented by Mr Suang Wijaya, she opposed the winding-up application, arguing that it was part of an elaborate ploy by her sister-in-law.
Justice Ang agreed.

He said it was beyond doubt that Madam Lakshmi wanted Madam Rajeswary out of the picture, whether it was for the good of the business or more self-serving ends.
The judge found it difficult to believe it was purely coincidental that the EGM was called the day after Madam Lakshmi had been served court papers.
Moreover, the $20,000 from Adcrop would not have been enough to fully pay off the arrears.
“Coupled with the remarkable timing of the calling of the EGM, this provides support for the inference that the holding of the EGM and receipt of $20,000 from the plaintiff were not part of a genuine attempt to save Gokul Vegetarian, but rather an ‘insurance policy’ of sorts in case the first attempt to oust Madam Rajeswary failed, as eventually came to pass,” said the judge.
He said Adcrop’s complicity in the scheme meant that its application should be dismissed as an abuse of the court’s process.
Justice Ang stressed that it was not his role to decide the merits of the underlying dispute between the two women.
Even if there was some element of truth to Madam Lakshmi’s allegations that Madam Rajeswary had acted in dereliction of her duties as a director, the law provides her the means by which to seek remedies, he said.

 

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Jail for man who tried to use roommate’s passport to leave S’pore after arrest for rental scam​

Nadine Chua

June 15, 2023

SINGAPORE – After being arrested for cheating multiple victims in a rental scam, Patel Dhavalkumar Chandubhai, who was out on bail, attempted to leave Singapore by using his roommate’s passport.
The 24-year-old Indian national was sentenced to 14 months and 14 weeks’ jail on Thursday after pleading guilty to five charges, including one under the Passports Act. The other charges were related to the rental scam.
Patel entered into an agreement with four rental scam victims, who had come to Singapore to study, to each rent a room in the unit he was residing in. Court documents did not state how many rooms there were in the unit or what kind of unit it was.
In May 2022, Patel demanded a rental sum of $500 from each victim, and asked for an additional $200 from one of the victims for groceries to be shared among the tenants of the unit.
After receiving the monies, however, Patel left the unit on the pretext that he was travelling to Malaysia for a short trip and became uncontactable.
The landlord eventually informed the victims that Patel had not paid him their monthly rent and that he had been giving excuses to delay the payment. Subsequently, the landlord demanded that they leave the unit.
The victims lodged police reports against Patel. He was arrested on May 29 at Changi Airport while attempting to leave Singapore for India.

He surrendered his passport and was released on bail on June 3, knowing that he was not to travel out of Singapore’s jurisdiction without the leave of the court.
In March 2023, when Patel’s roommate informed him that he wished to purchase a new mobile phone, Patel asked him to bring along his passport.
His roommate did so and gave his passport to Patel, who kept it, even though they did not manage to buy a mobile phone that day.


On March 20, Patel used his roommate’s passport at an automated passport counter at Tuas Checkpoint in an attempt to leave the country.
But his facial, iris and fingerprint biometrics did not match that of the actual passport holder, and Patel was referred to an immigration officer.
When the officer asked him for his particulars, Patel was able to recite his roommate’s details from memory. When questioned further, he provided a digital copy of his roommate’s student pass.
Immigration officers later found a deleted photo of Patel’s own passport in his mobile phone, and he was arrested.

In his submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Louis Ngia said Patel is a serial offender who has demonstrated a persistent disregard for the law.
“The planning and premeditation in the present case goes beyond the pale. (Patel) had laced his scheme with deception. He memorised (his roommate’s) passport details... and produced a copy of (his) student pass. The irresistible inference is that of his careful and detailed preparation in committing the offence,” said the DPP.
After District Judge Kenneth Chin meted out the sentence, Patel said through a translator: “The sentence is too long. I would like to ask my lawyer what he can do about it.”
After the judge explained that the sentence had already been passed, Patel continued to ask several times if he “really had to accept it”.
Addressing Patel’s defence lawyer A. Revi Shanker, the judge said: “I will leave it to you to advise him.”
Those who use a foreign travel document that was not issued to them in connection with travel or identification may be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $10,000, or both.

 

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Woman who told son-in-law to get rid of CCTV footage in fatal maid abuse case jailed 3 more years​

Prema S. Naraynasamy (left) pleaded guilty to 47 charges of voluntarily causing hurt to domestic helper Piang Ngaih Don. PHOTOS: ST FILE, HELPING HANDS FOR MIGRANT WORKERS

Jean Iau

June 26, 2023

SINGAPORE - A woman who told her son-in-law, a police officer, to remove surveillance footage of her and her daughter abusing their maid to death, was given three more years’ jail, on Monday.
Prema S Naraynasamy, 64, had pleaded guilty on June 15 to one charge of instigating Kevin Chelvam, 44, a police officer, to cause evidence of the offences in their Bishan flat to disappear.
Appearing in court via video-link, a now petite Prema, who wore a mask and has shoulder-length hair, lowered her head as the sentence was read out to her.
She is currently serving a 14-year jail sentence after pleading guilty to 47 charges of voluntarily causing hurt to Myanmar national Piang Ngaih Don, 24, and one charge of attempting to voluntarily cause hurt to the domestic worker.
The court heard earlier that Prema knew that surveillance cameras in the flat would have captured the abuse and told Chelvam to dismantle and disconnect the recorder from the camera and to hand the device to her.
Prema’s daughter-in-law, Isabella, arrived at the flat later that day, and Prema hid the recorder in Isabella’s bag.
While Isabella was unaware of the significance of the recorder, Prema told her to do something with it. Isabella then passed the recorder to her husband, who gave it to a friend.

Isabella and her husband handed the footage to the police when investigators turned up at their home.
Ms Piang, who had a three-year-old son, was working outside Myanmar for the first time and was not allowed to have a mobile phone or have any day off.
She died of a brain injury with severe blunt trauma to her neck on July 26, 2016, after 14 months of repeated abuse. It was one of Singapore’s worst cases of maid abuse.

She was starved and lost 15kg in her 14 months of employment with the family and weighed only 24kg when she died.
Ms Piang was also tied to a window grille at night in the days before her death and assaulted if she tried to rummage the dustbin for food.
Prema had been assaulting the victim on July 25, 2016, with her daughter and co-accused, Gaiyathiri Murugayan, 43. Gaiyathiri was sentenced on June 22, 2021, to 30 years in prison – the longest jail term meted out in a maid abuse case here.
After refusing the maid her dinner, Gaiyathiri tied the victim’s wrist to a window grille and kicked her in the stomach before leaving her on the floor.
Even when the victim was unresponsive the mother-daughter duo refused to call for an ambulance or the police.
They called for a doctor to make a house call.

When the doctor arrived and realised Ms Piang was dead, she called for an ambulance. Paramedics pronounced Ms Piang dead.
An autopsy report found a total of 31 recent scars and 47 external injuries all over the maid’s body.
Surveillance footage showed Gaiyathiri pouring cold water on her domestic helper, slapping, pushing, punching, kicking and stomping on her.
She was also seen hitting the maid with objects, pulling her by the hair and shaking her violently, burning her with a heated iron and choking her.
The maid’s meals often comprised sliced bread soaked in water, cold food straight from the refrigerator or some rice at night.
She was also made to shower with the toilet door open.
Prema, who often stayed at the flat, was also seen in the footage.
Seeking an additional three years’ jail for Prema to run consecutively from her current 14-year jail term, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh on June 15 argued that this was one of the most horrific abuse cases of a domestic helper that resulted in her death.
Defence lawyer Rai Satish had sought between 18 and 24 months’ jail for his client, arguing the term should run concurrently with her current sentence.
Chelvam’s case is pending, and he is set to claim trial in July. He and Gaiyathiri divorced in 2020.
Chelvam has been suspended from the police force since August 2016, days after the maid died.

 

[k1976]

#1

Former secretary of Hindu temple fined $7,000 for continuing to act in position while disqualified

After his conviction in 2017, Ratha Krishnan Selvakumar continued to act as the temple's secretary.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Dominic Low

PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO

SINGAPORE - A man disqualified as secretary of a Hindu temple for being convicted of offences involving elements of dishonesty was fined $7,000 in court for continuing to play the role for over a year.

Ratha Krishnan Selvakumar, 65, had pleaded guilty on Thursday (Nov 19) to one count of acting as a board member of a charity despite being disqualified.

He was a key board member of Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, a registered charity located in Serangoon Road which the Commissioner of Charities (COC) in 2018 found to have been mismanaged.

On May 9, 2017, Selvakumar was convicted of 10 offences and fined $80,000.

He had inflated the monthly salary of various foreign workers, whom he employed in a company he owned, when applying to the Ministry of Manpower for their work passes.

Under the Charities Act, any person who has previously been convicted of offences such as fraud, corruption, bribery and deception is disqualified from acting in the capacity of a governing board member, key officer or trustee of any charity.

Selvakumar, who was appointed as the secretary of the temple in 2011, is believed to be the first person prosecuted for the offence since the Act was amended in 2018.

A member of the temple's governing board, he oversaw its daily operations and was also one of the three people authorised to conduct financial transactions on behalf of the temple.

After his conviction in 2017, Selvakumar continued to act as the temple's secretary, and was even paid $10,450 monthly from July 2017.

His stint ended on April 30, 2018, when the COC barred key board members of the temple - including Selvakumar - from their posts after an eight-month probe found "severe mismanagement" in how its money was managed.

In a statement issued then, the Commissioner noted that an inquiry found a "severe lack of care and prudence" by key board members as guardians of the temple's charitable assets between January 2011 and July 2014, with internal controls nearly "non-existent".

Such behaviour had put the temple's funds and assets at risk.

The probe found many instances where payments given by the temple were not adequately substantiated with sufficient supporting documents.

These payments exceeded $500,000.

The Commissioner also appointed three additional board members to the temple's management to put in place proper governance and internal controls.

They are Mr Shekaran K. Krishnan, a partner at Ernst & Young, Mr Ram an Rajakanth, executive director of Rainbow Across Borders and Mr Baskaran Ambikapathy, a financial controller.

A spokesman for the Hindu Endowments Board had said then that the board assisted the temple's newly appointed and remaining management committee members in every way possible to put in place the proper controls.

On Thursday, the court heard that Selvakumar had tendered a letter of resignation to the temple on May 7, 2018.

District Judge Carol Ling also took into consideration one similar charge during sentencing.

For his offence, Selvakumar could have been jailed for up to three years, or fined up to $10,000, or both.

We need a MahaRaj to instll good discipline De woh

 

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Jail for man who assaulted police officer in Balestier condo raid where accomplice was shot​

Nikhil M. Durgude attacked a police officer during the police raid at the City Suites condominium in Balestier. PHOTO: ST FILE
Christine Tan

July 10, 2023

SINGAPORE - A man who punched and kicked a police officer during a raid was sentenced to a total of nine years and 18 months’ jail and fined $4,000 on Monday.
This included a two-year jail term for the assault.
Nikhil M. Durgude, 25, had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges, including voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, possessing cannabis and consuming methamphetamine.
Fifteen other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Noting that Nikhil also hurled abusive insults at the police officer during the attack, district court Judge Jasvender Kaur said this showed his “utter disregard for authority”.
“Officers deserve to feel assured that they will be adequately protected by the law,” the judge added.
On Nov 5, 2020, three officers including Senior Staff Sergeant Chua Ming Cheng and Inspector Zheng Yiyang went to a unit at City Suites in Balestier during a police operation over a series of cheating cases.

They identified themselves as police to Nikhil and two others, Prakash Mathivanan, then 36, and Malani Naidu Prabhakar Naidu, then 33, in the living room.
As the trio squatted and placed their hands on their heads as ordered, they began talking to one another.
After SSS Chua instructed them to stop, Prakash got up and lunged at the officer, causing him to fall. Prakash then hit the officer in the face and upper body.

Insp Zheng drew his service revolver and pointed it at the sofa, which was in the general direction of Prakash and Nikhil, and commanded Prakash to stop attacking SSS Chua.
However, Prakash turned to him and grabbed his hands, which were holding the gun.
SSS Chua attempted to get up and assist Insp Zheng, but Nikhil leapt up and began punching and kicking him repeatedly. He fell again and Nikhil continued to assault and hurl insults at SSS Chua as he lay on the floor.
A while later, two other officers entered the unit and Nikhil stopped his attack on SSS Chua.
By this time, SSS Chua was on the floor with a bloodied face.

The trio were arrested. Nikhil was taken to the Central Police Division headquarters, where his urine tested positive for methamphetamine.
Said the prosecution: “The accused attacked an officer who was attempting to intervene in a dangerous situation, effectively preventing SSS Chua from assisting (Insp) Zheng.
“The accused shouting abusive words towards the victim during the attack indicates that the accused was motivated by some degree of malice.”
Prakash was shot in the abdomen during the struggle and was later taken to hospital.
He was sentenced to jail for three years and 10 months in August 2022 for theft, cheating and drug-related offences. His other charges, including for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, are still pending.
SSS Chua was treated in hospital for a cut on the forehead and abrasions on his right elbow and left forearm.
Nikhil, who was represented by lawyer Ramesh Tiwary, listened quietly to the court proceedings via video-link. After receiving his sentence, he requested to speak to his family members present in the courtroom.
For voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant, Nikhil could be jailed for up to seven years, caned, or fined.

 

[mixmasternrv]

Jail for man who assaulted police officer in Balestier condo raid where accomplice was shot​

This snake couple are serial cheats

'Seasoned criminal' who cheated multiple victims in credit card, online scams gets 5 years' jail​

Lydia Lam
@LydiaLamCNA
21 Jun 2018 09:09PM(Updated: 03 Feb 2021 04:48PM)


SINGAPORE: A woman who was labelled a "serial cheater who constantly expanded her criminal repertoire" by the prosecution was on Thursday (Jun 21) sentenced to five years' jail on 15 charges covering a range of offences including cheating, housebreaking and drug crime.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng Yuxi said Malani Naidu Prabhakar Naidu, 31, was a "seasoned criminal who committed a wide variety of property and drug-related offences over a short two-year span from 2015 to 2017".

​

In one case, she put up a property that she was renting on online marketplace Gumtree, pretending to be the owner.
She then "rented" it out to a Japanese national who paid her S$3,581.60.
When the Japanese national returned to Japan, Malani's boyfriend Prakash Mathivanan, 34, used a spare key to enter the unit and stole valuables worth S$37,300, passing them to Malani.
Among the items were a Chanel clutch, a yellow diamond ring, a Cartier watch and several branded bags and shoes.
The pair also collaborated in another case where they used a victim's credit card to buy S$2,968.80 worth of electronic goods on online marketplace QOO10.

​

In another case, Malani advertised a fridge and a washing machine which she did not have on Carousell, cheating a victim of S$400.
Malani also worked with Prakash and another person to break into the house of an American couple to steal a Samsung Galaxy S5 phone worth S$547.
On top of the multiple charges for cheating and abetment by conspiracy to cheat, Malani was also convicted by District Judge Jasvender Kaur on one charge of consumption of methamphetamine and another of possessing the drug.
Malani was first arrested in January last year but absconded while on bail. She was arrested again on May 30, 2017, near Far East Plaza.
The prosecutor said Malani not only absconded while on police bail, but committed offences while she was on the run.

​

"The act of absconding reflects the accused's lack of remorse for that offence," said the prosecutor. "It also reflects the accused's contempt of authority and increases the amount of police resources that have to be expended in trying to locate the accused."
Source: CNA/ll

​

 

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Man jailed 7 months for duping company into paying inflated prices for almost 7 years​

Eldo Thottungal Mathai, 68, pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating on Aug 1. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Christine Tan

AUG 1, 2023

SINGAPORE – The director of a freight-forwarding services firm was jailed for seven months after he admitted to cheating another company into paying inflated prices for almost seven years.
Eldo Thottungal Mathai, 68, pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating on Tuesday. Three other similar counts were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Court documents said the Indian national, who is also a permanent resident here, was the director of Indus Global Line (IGL) at the time of the offences.
Sometime in June 2010, Eldo got to know Hussain Naina Mohamed, a 47-year-old Indian national who worked at Utracon Structural Systems.
As an assistant shipping manager, Hussain’s responsibilities included making vendor recommendations to his superiors, and helping the firm’s sister company, Utracon Overseas, with similar tasks. Collectively, the two firms are part of Utracon Corporation.
Unbeknownst to Utracon, Hussain was also a partner at another company, Al Rahman Enterprises & Trading (Aret).
Sometime in 2011, Eldo and Hussain hatched a plan for IGL to submit inflated quotations to Utracon for freight-forwarding services.

Eldo would first send an e-mail with a legitimate quotation to Hussain’s Aret e-mail account. The latter would then respond with instructions on the mark-up amount.
Subsequently, Eldo would send the marked-up quotation to Hussain at his Utracon work e-mail address. Hussain would then review it in his capacity as the company’s assistant shipping manager.
In the three charges proceeded against Eldo, Utracon was cheated into paying IGL inflated amounts of around $374,529. The total mark-ups for these quotations were $33,231.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Tan said that all the marked-up amounts went to Aret. After IGL received payment from Utracon, Eldo would pass Hussain the mark-ups in cash.
“While the accused did not receive the mark-ups, he profited from the business that IGL received by virtue of the deception that he and Hussain applied on Utracon,” said DPP Tan.
Had Utracon known the truth about the pair’s arrangement, and the conflict of interest on Hussain’s part as he was employed by both Utracon and Aret, it would not have made payments to IGL, said the prosecutor.

The dishonest scheme continued from October 2011 to August 2018, lasting for almost seven years.
In total, Utracon was duped into paying about $417,367 to IGL.
DPP Tan called for Eldo to be jailed for six to eight months, citing the need for deterrence and the significant difficulty in detecting the offences.
Including the offences involving Eldo, Hussain had duped Utracon into making payments totalling over $5.1 million to companies linked to him.
He was sentenced to 30 months’ jail in May after he pleaded guilty to nine counts of cheating involving more than $2.5 million and one count of moving a portion of his ill-gotten gains out of Singapore.

 

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Drunken lorry driver drags friend along road, utters vulgarities at cop during arrest​

Nadine Chua

AUG 16, 2023

SINGAPORE - A man breached Covid-19 measures to drink with his friends in 2020 and, with his blood alcohol level more than double the prescribed limit, drove a lorry and dragged one of them along the road.
That same day, the man charged towards a police officer and uttered a slew of threatening and abusive words at another officer.
On Wednesday, K. Pradeep Ram, 41, was sentenced to 21 months and two weeks’ jail and fined $5,000. He was also disqualified from driving for 10 years.
He pleaded guilty to four charges, including one count of dangerous driving causing grievous hurt and another of using abusive words towards a police officer.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said that on May 24, 2020, at around 9pm, Pradeep and his friend Pravin met at another friend’s house for dinner and drinks.
DPP Koh said the trio met up for a social purpose when they were not permitted to do so under measures put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 then.
At around 4.45am, Pradeep and Pravin left the house and Pradeep offered to take Pravin home using his company lorry, which was parked at a carpark in Choa Chu Kang.

It was not stated in court documents what job Pradeep held.
At the carpark, Pradeep and Pravin started tussling with each other while intoxicated. They pushed, wrestled and used road traffic cones to hit each other. Almost an hour later, Pravin lay down on a road hump at the carpark. Pradeep then started driving his lorry in a dangerous manner.
“He first collided into a construction barrier on the side of the road and kept going, and his lorry swayed from one side of the road to the other,” said DPP Koh.

Pradeep then drove to the hump that Pravin was lying on and, without slowing down or stopping, drove over the hump.

Pravin’s clothes got caught in the undercarriage of the lorry, and he was dragged along the road. The lorry made a round of the carpark and came to a stop at the exit gantry.
Responding to calls for assistance, police officers arrived and called an ambulance for Pravin.
He was later found to have suffered multiple injuries, including an ear laceration and large abrasions on his thighs, arms and chest. He also required skin grafts as a result of his injuries.
A breathalyser test was conducted on Pradeep, who was found to have 79 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than double the prescribed limit of 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath.
When one of the police officers noticed Pradeep toppling over while sitting on a kerb, he was asked to lean against a structure at the gantry to avoid falling.
But Pradeep suddenly stood up and charged towards the officer. He was then restrained and handcuffed to a railing.
Pradeep then used threatening and abusive words towards another police officer, uttering a slew of vulgarities in Hokkien.

Seeking a jail term of 21 months and one week to 24 months and two weeks, DPP Koh said the lorry was driven directly over the victim, adding that it was fortuitous that he was not more seriously injured.
He noted that Pradeep was voluntarily intoxicated at the time of committing the offences and added: “The offender behaved in a belligerent manner when police engaged him in the aftermath of the incident, evincing a lack of remorse.”

 

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Mother jailed 18 weeks for attacking CMPB officer serving order on son who failed to report for NS​

K. Santhi A. Krishnasamy was earlier convicted on two charges including one for voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Samuel Devaraj

AUG 25, 2023

SINGAPORE - A woman who attacked a Central Manpower Base (CMPB) enlistment inspector who went to her home after her son failed to report for national service (NS) was jailed for 18 weeks on Friday.
K. Santhi A. Krishnasamy, 58, had earlier been convicted after a trial over a charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant, and another of using criminal force on a public servant.
On Friday, she repeatedly interrupted District Judge Christopher Goh as he was delivering the reasons for the sentence, causing him to raise his voice on several occasions.
The judge began by saying he agreed with the prosecution that where offences are committed against public servants, general deterrence is the overriding consideration. He also highlighted Santhi’s persistent aggressive behaviour, which was evident from body-worn camera footage.
It showed that the victim was grabbed or pulled several times over the course of the incident, and that Santhi continued her offending actions despite the numerous warnings to stop.
While the judge was explaining this, Santhi, who had already interjected a few times before, interrupted him saying, “All of it is not true”.
“Keep quiet and let me finish,” Judge Goh replied.

The judge also highlighted Santhi’s lack of remorse.
He said she never once sought to explain her actions that day or apologise to the enlistment inspectors, and instead continued to assert that her son was not fit for NS and that she had not caused hurt to the inspectors.
Judge Goh then asked Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng about the five other charges that were taken into consideration during her sentencing. These included charges for entering Bukit Gombak Camp without a permit on three occasions in 2021. When Santhi interrupted them again, Judge Goh raised his voice saying, “Can you please wait. Speak when you are spoken to, ma’am.”

The judge later granted Santhi a deferment on her sentence to consider if she wanted to appeal against her sentence. He called her husband forward from the gallery, to explain to him what this meant, as he is her bailor.
Referring to Santhi’s sentence, her husband said “it is nonsense” before Judge Goh stopped him from continuing.
According to the State Courts’ records, Santhi has appealed against her sentence.
DPP Ng said previously that Santhi’s son, Mr Kavinsarang Shin, had failed to turn up for enlistment at the Basic Military Training Centre in Pulau Tekong on the morning of April 23, 2021.

That day, at about 5pm, three CMPB enlistment inspectors arrived at Santhi’s flat to serve an order for her son to report to CMPB to assist in investigations.
One of the inspectors, Mr Ang Wei Cong, read the order to Mr Shin, but Santhi insisted her son was not familiar with the facts of the case and refused to accept the order. She then wrote a note on the order calling it a “falsehood”, and insisted on returning it to Mr Ang.
The inspectors did not take the order, and walked towards the lift lobby. Inspector Adeline Joyce Neubronner testified that Santhi grabbed her right wrist, prompting her to cry out in pain.
Mr Ang and the third inspector, Mr Vincent Lee Sian Fung, tried to get Santhi to let go of their colleague, but she continued pulling Ms Neubronner’s hand. Santhi also grabbed Mr Ang’s body-worn camera, flung it to the floor and kicked it away. Mr Ang then performed an armlock to prevent her from causing further harm.
Her husband arrived at the lift lobby, and Mr Ang told him to control his wife, while Mr Lee called the police. Ms Neubronner suffered superficial abrasions on both arms, and a right shoulder sprain.
During the trial, Ms Neubronner said she was traumatised by the incident.
“I felt that we were just doing our job, and we understand as public front-liners, unexpected things would happen, but not to this extent.”
The DPP said that determining pre-enlistees’ fitness for enlistment is not within the purview of the inspectors, and they had verified with CMPB that Mr Shin was fit for enlistment before heading down.
The prosecutor said this incident could have been resolved amicably without violence, but Santhi took matters into her own hands.

Santhi, who did not have a lawyer, had claimed in her mitigation that her son had been enlisted without a review by a cardiologist after his electrocardiogram showed abnormalities.
She claimed she still had not received information that she requested from the Ministry of Defence about her son’s enlistment. He has since completed his NS.
She said: “I asked for (an) explanation in a very respectful manner. I spent the last two years worrying every day about whether my son would lose his life during NS.
She said: “The prosecution has said that I have no remorse. As a mother seeking to keep her son safe, it is true, I have no remorse. In fact, I feel that it was my responsibility to do everything in my power.”

 

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Rapper Subhas Nair gets 6 weeks’ jail for trying to promote feelings of ill will between groups​

Subhas Nair had earlier claimed trial before District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan convicted him of all four charges in July. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Sep 5, 2023

SINGAPORE - Local rapper Subhas Nair was handed a six-week jail sentence on Tuesday over four counts of trying to promote feelings of ill will between different racial and religious groups in Singapore.
The musician, whose full name is Subhas Govin Prabhakar Nair, 31, had earlier claimed trial before District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan convicted him of all four charges in July.
The first charge centred on a video by City Revival Church founder Jaime Wong and social media influencer Joanna Theng.
The two women had made remarks linking the gay pride movement to Satan.
Nair responded to the video, posting a message on Instagram on July 25, 2020, stating: “If two Malay Muslims made a video promoting Islam and saying the kinds of hateful things these Chinese Christians said, ISD (Internal Security Department) would have been at the door before they even hit ‘upload’.”
He removed the post on Nov 2, 2020.
In their submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutors Suhas Malhotra and Jordon Li said the obvious message behind Nair’s post is that Malay Muslims are “targeted” by the authorities, while Chinese Christians get “preferential treatment”.

On the first day of his trial on March 21, 2023, Nair, who is represented by lawyer Suang Wijaya, admitted he had posted messages which the prosecution described as inflammatory comments on race and religion.
But Nair denied he had done so in an attempt to promote ill will between different racial and religious groups in Singapore.
He also testified that the video by the two women contained “hate speech”, adding: “We need to admonish statements like these.”

The DPPs said his explanations were unbelievable, stressing that Nair had admitted during the trial that it was his decision to refer to Ms Wong and Ms Theng by their race and religion as identifiers.
The prosecutors added: “If his intent was indeed to admonish hate speech as he claimed in court, there was no reason to draw specific attention to the race and religion of the people using the hate speech.”
Nair’s second and third charges involved another Instagram post which was his response to a news article linked to a Mr Chan Jia Xing, then 27.
Mr Chan was initially accused of murdering Mr Satheesh Noel Gobidass, 31, at Orchard Towers in July 2019.
Mr Chan’s murder charge was later reduced to that of consorting with a person carrying an offensive weapon in a public place, and he was given a conditional warning in October 2020.

The case involving Mr Satheesh’s alleged killer Tan Sen Yang is pending.
Among other things, Nair had stated in his Instagram post: “Calling out racism and Chinese privilege, two-year conditional warning and smear campaign in the media.”
During the trial in March, DPP Malhotra said: “This post creates feelings of ill will between Chinese and Indians in Singapore... the accused’s post implied that the law enforcement authorities treat Indians far more severely than Chinese.”
But Nair testified that he did not intend to create enmity between the different races.
He told the court that he was instead commenting on the state of journalism here after an unnamed news platform asked Mr Chan about his baby following his conditional warning.
Nair had said in his Instagram post: “Do you actually think a brown person would get asked these type of questions?”
The DPPs said in their submissions that this Instagram post sought to advance the narrative that Singapore was “biased against the Indian community”.
The fourth charge was linked to a rap video featuring Nair that was posted on YouTube on July 29, 2019, which contained lyrics that were deemed offensive to Chinese people.
During the trial, Nair testified that the video was done in response to an advertisement which featured local actor Dennis Chew playing multiple roles, including that of an Indian man and a Malay woman.
He told the court that he wanted his rap video to convey the message that the advertisement was blatantly racist.
He added that the rap video was directed towards some Chinese, whom he said are racist.
Stressing that not all Chinese are racist, Nair said he wanted to end instances of “brownface” in Singapore.
Brownface is a social phenomenon, usually involving a light-skinned person pretending to be somebody of a different ethnicity who has a darker complexion.
DPP Malhotra said during the trial: “Had the accused displayed his offence to the advertisement in a temperate and dignified manner, no criminal offence would have been committed. Instead, the accused resorted to insulting and ridiculing Chinese people in general.”
On Tuesday, Mr Wijaya told the court that Nair maintains his position of not being guilty of the offences.
The lawyer also said his client intends to appeal against his conviction and sentence.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Jail for MOM officer who asked bank staff to obtain details of his colleagues’ salaries​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Sep 14, 2023

SINGAPORE - A levy administration manager at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) was curious about his colleagues’ salary details and asked a bank officer to help him obtain the information.
The prosecution said that Dinath Silvamany Muthaliyar wanted to ascertain his standing in respect of his salary at the ministry.
Liong Yan Sin, who was then working as a collections officer at DBS, agreed to help him and conducted multiple unauthorised searches on the bank’s computer system.
After that, he shared the salary details with Dinath via WhatsApp.
Dinath, 35, was sentenced to five weeks’ jail on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to eight charges including four under the Computer Misuse Act.
The Straits Times has contacted MOM to find out if he is still employed with the ministry.
Liong, then 32, who is no longer working for DBS, was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail in November 2022.

He had pleaded guilty to multiple charges including 10 under the Computer Misuse Act for accessing customers’ details without authorisation.
A third man, Ang Kok How, who was not linked to Dinath’s offences, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail in May 2023.
Ang, then 35, had admitted to an offence under the Act for abetting Liong in making an unauthorised search on the bank’s customer information system.

DBS had employed Liong as a collections officer from July 2016 to December 2018.
As part of his job scope, he was given access to the customer information system, which allowed him to retrieve customer details.
It was made clear to him when he joined the bank that he was not to access customer details outside the scope of his duties.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Shi Yin said that before working for MOM, Dinath was Liong’s colleague at the bank.
From June 2018, Dinath asked for Liong’s help to find out about the salary details of his MOM colleagues and the latter agreed.
Liong then obtained the necessary information involving four people in July and November that year before sharing them with Dinath.
On Thursday, DPP Tan asked for Dinath to be given between six and seven weeks’ jail, adding: “The accused instigated Liong into disclosing the salary details of his colleagues...In disclosing the salary details...there was a grave abuse of Liong’s position as a collections officer at DBS.”
Defence lawyer S. S. Dhillon pleaded for his client to be given three weeks’ jail.
Stressing that this case involved Dinath’s first brush with the law, the lawyer from Dhillon & Panoo said: “(He) regrets his foolish actions...he had no intent to misuse the information provided.”
Dinath’s bail was set at $15,000 on Thursday, and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Sept 22 to begin serving his sentence.

 

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Jail for man with Covid-19 who coughed at colleagues, including dialysis patient, as a ‘joke’​

Tamilselvam Ramaiya was sentenced to two weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Sep 19, 2023

SINGAPORE – A cleaner who was found to have Covid-19 in October 2021 deliberately coughed in the direction of two colleagues – one of whom had kidney issues and had undergone dialysis.
Tamilselvam Ramaiya later told investigators that he had coughed at them as a “joke”, but the prosecution stressed on Monday that the issue was no laughing matter.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana also said that none of Tamilselvam’s colleagues contracted Covid-19 as a result of his actions.
She added that his antics took place at a time when Singapore was experiencing a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases, which necessitated the tightening of restrictions under the Stabilisation Phase from Sept 27 to Oct 24, 2021.
The 64-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to two weeks’ jail on Monday after he pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
Tamilselvam, who was working as a cleaner for investment holding firm Leong Hup Singapore at the time, had a runny nose when he reported for work at its logistics office in Senoko Way on Oct 18, 2021, morning.
An assistant logistics manager told him to take an antigen rapid test (ART), and when the result came back positive, told Tamilselvam to go home.

The manager then told the two colleagues – a 40-year-old male logistics supervisor and a 56-year-old female clerk with heart and kidney issues – about the cleaner’s condition.
But instead of heading home immediately, Tamilselvam went to an office to look for the assistant logistics manager.
The two victims were in the office, an enclosed air-conditioned room, when Tamilselvam and a 33-year-old driver, who was unaware of the older man’s condition, entered at around 10.30am.

The logistics supervisor told the driver not to go near Tamilselvam, and told the cleaner to leave the premises.
The DPP said: “The accused, who was initially wearing his mask, walked towards the office door and exited the office. However, he then opened the office door and coughed into the office with his mask on. The accused did this twice, before the (logistics supervisor) closed the office door with his leg.”
Tamilselvam opened the office door again soon after.
He lowered his mask to expose his nose and mouth, and coughed into the office a third time before leaving.

The clerk was seated in the office next to a window at the time.
Tamilselvam opened the window from the outside and coughed once in her direction with his mask on while he was about an arm’s length from her.
His antics alarmed the two colleagues, and the assistant logistics manager lodged a police report later that day.
On Monday, DPP Sruthi pressed for him to be given three to four weeks’ jail, adding: “The accused’s actions... reflect a wanton disregard for the safety of his colleagues.”
“The (female) victim, in particular, was a dialysis patient who suffered from both cardiac and renal issues. She was therefore particularly alarmed by the accused’s actions and quickly administered an ART on herself after the accused coughed in her direction,” she added.
Defence lawyer Lee Wei Yung, however, pleaded for Tamilselvam to be given a fine.
The lawyer also said that if the court were to impose a jail sentence, his client should be given one that is shorter than that sought by the prosecutor.
Mr Lee stressed that his client has a heart condition and did not commit the offence out of malice.

 

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Man who wore S’pore flag like a cape while shouting he is God gets 2 weeks’ jail​

Nadine Chua

Sep 21, 2023

SINGAPORE – A man who wore the Singapore flag like a cape while shouting at patrons at a Hougang coffee shop in September was sentenced to two weeks’ jail.
Roy Ravi Jaganathan, 36, on Thursday pleaded guilty to one charge of being a public nuisance.
This was not Ravi’s first offence. He was sentenced to five days’ jail on a similar charge of public nuisance after shouting aggressively and gesturing with an umbrella to people at another coffee shop in Hougang in July.
Addressing his most recent offence, State Prosecuting Officer Ting Nge Kong said that on Sept 5, Ravi headed to the coffee shop at Block 682 Hougang Avenue 8 wearing a green T-shirt with a Singapore flag draped over his shoulders and tied around his neck, wearing it like a cape.
He also wore a pair of bermuda shorts over his track pants and placed a blue towel on his head with a cap over it.
Ravi arrived at the coffee shop at around 8.30am and started shouting at patrons there.
“He went from table to table shouting loudly and proclaimed that he was God. At times, he ranted incoherently and intentionally lifted up his T-shirt to expose his torso to the patrons,” said SPO Ting.

A member of the public called the police, saying that there was a drunk man walking around hurling vulgarities and racist remarks.
The police arrived at the coffee shop after receiving multiple calls from the public and found him still shouting loudly and harassing others.
He was subsequently arrested, after he continued the shouting despite the police advising him to stop the behaviour.
Those found guilty of public nuisance can be fined up to $2,000.
On a second or subsequent conviction, offenders can be jailed for up to three months, or fined up to $2,000, or both.
In June, a man was sentenced to 70 hours of community service and was told to serve a day reporting order (DRO) of three months after he started a fire near a coffee shop and burned Singapore flags.
The 40-year-old man, who had been drinking alcohol non-stop on National Day 2022, then threw his shorts in the flames and walked home naked.
A DRO means that instead of spending time behind bars, an offender must report to a day reporting centre for monitoring and counselling.

 

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3 years’ jail for drug offender who assaulted prison officer, causing facial fracture​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Oct 9, 2023

SINGAPORE - A narcotics abuser was undergoing treatment at a drug rehabilitation centre (DRC) located within Changi Prison when he punched a prison officer in an unprovoked attack, causing a fracture to the man’s face.
Kaliappan Kumarasamy, 51, later told investigators that he was feeling angry at the time because of an internal investigation against him and another inmate over an unrelated dispute.
On Monday, he was sentenced to three years’ jail after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt to chief warder Lim See Chuan, 41.
Shortly before the incident on Dec 21, 2022, inmates at the DRC were released from their cells to take their medication.
Mr Lim later approached Kaliappan to escort him back to his cell, and the pair started talking as they walked down a corridor.
Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew said: “While they were talking, the victim touched the accused’s right upper arm as a friendly gesture. However, a moment later as they continued walking, the accused suddenly punched the victim’s face forcefully with his left fist.
“The victim fell to the ground. As the victim was picking himself up, the accused stood in front of him and threw another punch at the victim’s head with his left fist. This punch missed the victim’s head.”

Mr Lim, who was bleeding from his nose and mouth, activated his communication device for assistance, prompting his colleagues to rush over.
Despite this, Kaliappan continued to assume an aggressive fighting stance and had both fists raised.
A prison officer used pepper spray on Kaliappan and he was subdued.
Mr Lim was taken to Changi General Hospital. He was discharged later that day and was given seven days of hospitalisation leave.
He continued to suffer from facial numbness, said DPP Chew who on Monday asked for Kaliappan to be given between three years and 3½ years’ jail.
The prosecutor told the court: “The accused had brazenly assaulted the victim despite being completely unprovoked.
“He had done so because he was angry at (the Singapore Prison Service) for a separate investigation against him. Such ‘revenge’ attacks... simply cannot be allowed or tolerated.”
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt to a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to 15 years and fined or caned.
Kaliappan cannot be caned as he is over 50 years old.

 

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Drunk man refused to leave midnight train, chased assistant station manager and gave him concussion​

After chasing the assistant station manager into another train and scuffling with him, the man took off all his clothes except his underwear.

File photo of North-East Line train. (Photo: Facebook/SBS Transit)

Lydia Lam​

@LydiaLamCNA
11 Oct 2023

SINGAPORE: A 24-year-old man refused to leave a train that was headed for the depot and scuffled with the assistant station manager, leaving the latter concussed after pushing his head against the train door repeatedly.
Meenachisuntharam Pandiselvam was sentenced to four weeks' jail on Tuesday (Oct 10) for voluntarily causing hurt and fined S$800 for his conduct while drunk.
The court heard that Pandiselvam was in a train carriage at Punggol MRT Station at around 12.15am on Jan 16 this year.
A 55-year-old assistant station manager deployed at the train station went to make sure no one stayed on the train before it returned to the depot.
The man saw Pandiselvam inside the carriage of a train at the platform and saw that he had bloodshot eyes and was walking unsteadily.
He was drunk, having consumed two 180ml bottles of vodka.
The assistant station manager told Pandiselvam that he had to exit the train, but Pandiselvam refused to leave.
The assistant station manager pulled Pandiselvam, along with his belongings, out of the train and onto the platform.
He helped Pandiselvam to his feet and asked him to gather his belongings and leave.
However, Pandiselvam became aggressive and started throwing his belongings around.
The assistant station manager tried to de-escalate the situation by helping Pandiselvam find his earpiece, which he had lost because he had thrown his belongings around the platform.
Despite this, Pandiselvam still did not leave the area. The assistant station manager told him at about 12.20am that the police would be called if he did not leave.
Pandiselvam turned aggressive and chased the assistant station manager, who ducked into a train cabin to avoid him.
The door closed behind Pandiselvam, who followed the assistant station manager into the train, and the pair began scuffling.
While they were on the floor of the train cabin, Pandiselvam pushed the assistant station manager against the train door, causing his head to hit the door several times.
The pair were eventually separated by another station employee.
"After being separated, the accused belligerently took off all his clothes except his underwear and proceeded to sit on a seat in the train cabin," said the prosecutor.
The victim went to a hospital with a concussion and abrasions over his jaw and elbow. He was given three days' of outpatient sick leave.
The prosecutor sought four to six weeks' jail and a fine of S$800 to S$1,000 for Pandiselvam.
He said Pandiselvam was the aggressor and was voluntarily intoxicated. Even after being restrained, he "continued to behave belligerently by taking off his clothes", said the prosecutor.
The victim also suffered injuries on a vulnerable part of his body - his head.
For voluntarily causing hurt, Pandiselvam could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

 

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Rapist who dragged woman to forested area in Kranji gets jail, caning for brutal attack​

The victim was attacked in Turf Club Avenue (above) in 2019. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

Aug 27, 2023

SINGAPORE – A cleaner who raped a 23-year-old woman in 2019 after pummelling her and dragging her into a forested area in Kranji was sentenced to 16 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Friday.
The victim, a university student, had ended up in Kranji late at night after she took the wrong MRT train on her way back to campus, prosecutors told the High Court.
Indian national Chinnaiah Karthik, now 26, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated rape for his attack on the woman at about 1.30am on May 4 that year.
He assaulted the victim so brutally that the victim’s then boyfriend could not recognise her when he visited her in hospital, owing to the severity of her facial injuries.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kayal Pillay said the victim was returning to her residential hall from Changi when she accidentally boarded the wrong train, and found herself at Kranji MRT station.
After checking a map app, the victim decided to wait for a bus that would take her to her campus.
At the time, she was on a long-distance call with her boyfriend and was quarrelling with him. There were several people at the bus stop, and she decided to walk to the next bus stop to get some privacy.

Caught up in the call, she walked for 10 to 15 minutes without paying attention to her surroundings.
As she walked past a sign for the Singapore Turf Club, Chinnaiah walked up to her and asked if she was okay. She replied that she was fine and asked him to leave her alone.
She then tried to walk back to the MRT station, but Chinnaiah grabbed her arm and pushed her down Turf Club Avenue, away from the station.

The victim could not understand his mumblings and walked in the direction he had indicated.
After some time, she realised that he was following her, and told her boyfriend about it. The boyfriend urged her to head to an open space and try to flag down a taxi, but there were no open areas and the road was deserted.
The woman decided to cross the road, but Chinnaiah caught up with her at the road divider and threw a punch at her face.
The boyfriend heard screams and noises over the phone, and shouted for her, but the line went dead. He then contacted her hall mate, who called the police.
Meanwhile, Chinnaiah was hitting the victim repeatedly, causing her spectacles to fall from her face.
He placed her in a headlock under his arm and dragged her into the forested area. He pinned her down by the neck as he raped her, and when the victim tried to pull his hand away, he tightened his grip.

After the rape, he drank from her water bottle and poured the remaining water over her lower body.
He then walked deeper into the vegetation, leaving the victim alone. She grabbed a pair of scissors from her bag in case he returned, found her ringing phone, and told her boyfriend she had been raped.
She walked back to the main road and sat there crying until the police arrived at around 2.05am.
Footage from surveillance cameras near the scene shows that Chinnaiah tailed the woman for about 15 minutes, hiding behind a tree at one point, before they disappeared from sight along Turf Club Avenue at 1.32am.
She emerged from the vegetation in a dishevelled state at 1.48am.
Police officers conducted investigations at nearby dormitories and housing areas, and caught Chinnaiah the next day, on May 5, 2019. Forensic tests detected his DNA on the victim’s clothes and body.
After a psychiatric evaluation found that he was unfit to stand trial, he was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on Aug 1, 2022, and remanded at the Institute of Mental Health.
He was reassessed and found fit to plead on Jan 16, 2023.
On Friday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Yvonne Poon said that four years on, the victim still suffers the emotional and psychological effects of the incident.
She has distanced herself from her family and friends and often cries at home. She did not tell her parents about the incident out of shame, and never sought therapy or counselling as she believed it would not help her.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Man promised 50 per cent returns in investment scam; cheated 16 victims of over $48k​

While out on bail in March 2023, Haresh Letchmanan reoffended by cheating other friends with the same ruse. PHOTO: ST FILE

Nadine Chua

NOV 9, 2023

SINGAPORE - A man who lied to his colleagues and friends that he knew of an investment opportunity that promised 50 per cent returns was sentenced to 38 weeks’ jail.
Haresh Letchmanan, 38, who pleaded guilty to five cheating charges on Thursday, had cheated 16 victims of a total of $48,500.
Eleven similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
He was arrested in March for his crimes, but while out on bail, he reoffended by cheating other friends with the same ruse and was arrested again in August.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yap Jia Jun said Haresh had worked at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) as an operations assistant till January 2023.
In 2021, he started investing in cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, and asked his family and friends to invest through him as well.
When returns were poor, Haresh had to fork out his own money to repay the sums he took from family and friends, which led to financial difficulties at the time of his offences.

The prosecutor said the first victim, V1, met Haresh while they were both working at TTSH.
In June 2022, Haresh told V1 he had an investment opportunity that would offer a 50 per cent return of the funds initially invested.
He told V1 the investment was “super safe” and promised him he would get his returns in August 2022. V1 then transferred $3,000 to Haresh’s bank account.

The second victim, V2, who also worked at TTSH, paid Haresh $8,000. Haresh had said the victim would make $500 for every $1,000 in a no-risk investment in a span of two weeks.
When V2 paid Haresh the money on Sept 10, Haresh promised him that he would receive $12,000 on Sept 24.
Haresh also talked about this “investment opportunity” to his subordinate at TTSH, who trusted his supervisor and transferred $3,000 to him.

Haresh ran his scheme with other colleagues at TTSH but, in reality, did not know of any investment that could generate such returns.
He subsequently used the funds received from his colleagues to repay his debts to loan sharks, family and friends, and also used some of it to gamble.
DPP Yap said Haresh did not repay the victims’ capital or the returns.
She added that Haresh did not make restitution to any of the victims in the proceeded charges.
As a result of his actions, some victims faced financial difficulties and had trouble paying their bills, said the DPP.
In mitigation, Haresh said: “I am really sorry for all my mistakes. I regret everything. This is my last time committing an offence. I do not want to be in prison again.”
Those found guilty of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and are also liable to a fine.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Gang member attacked another man with broken beer bottle, urinated on mother’s boyfriend​

Wong Shiying

NOV 14, 2023

SINGAPORE – A 32-year-old man was sentenced to jail and caning for offences including attacking another man with a broken beer bottle and urinating on his mother’s boyfriend.
On Tuesday, Harai Krishana Manoharan was sentenced to 22 months and 12 weeks’ jail, and three strokes of the cane.
He was convicted of six charges, including voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, using criminal force to deter a public servant from his duty, and harassment.
Nine similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The court heard that Harai belonged to a gang and tried to recruit a 37-year-old man in April 2021.
When the man refused, Harai and his friends – Subramanian Ellan, 35, and Stephen Philip Ramalingam, 31 – got upset. Harai smashed a glass beer bottle and swung the weapon towards the victim’s neck.
The victim shielded his neck from the attack, but his right hand was badly cut.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gladys Lim said: “The victim saw blood spilling out of his hand and his tendons were exposed. He felt faint and lost consciousness.”
The victim underwent surgery and was given nine months’ hospitalisation leave. He lost sensation and movement in his right arm in the days following the attack.
DPP Lim sought 21 to 27 months’ jail and three to six strokes of the cane for this offence, saying serious physical harm had been inflicted on the victim, who suffered an unprovoked attack.

In July 2021, Harai punched his mother when she intervened in a dispute between him and his then girlfriend. His mother’s boyfriend tried to stop him and was punched in the face several times.
Harai then urinated on his mother’s boyfriend and continued to kick and punch him even after the victim was taken into his bedroom.
In another instance, the accused used criminal force on police officers to deter them from taking him to a police station.

In January 2022, the police found him acting in a disorderly manner at a void deck after he had drunk three bottles of liquor and a few cans of beer.
After he was arrested, Harai resisted getting into the police vehicle by spitting at and kicking two officers. He had to be forcefully carried into the vehicle.
In mitigation, Harai told District Judge Christopher Goh that he was remorseful for his actions and was seeking help for anger management issues.
“I am going for counselling sessions to rehabilitate and try to become a better person for my family and society,” he said.
He added that he wanted to take up courses on security management to support his mother and stay crime-free after his release from prison.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

4 years’ jail for man who punched another, causing him to fall, suffer head injuries and die​

Christine Tan

Nov 27, 2023

SINGAPORE - A man who punched another in an altercation, causing the latter to fall and leading to his death in hospital five days later, was jailed four years for the offence on Nov 27.
Sakthivel Sivasurian, 33, was convicted in October of one charge of voluntarily causing hurt which causes grievous hurt.
District Judge James Elisha Lee said there was no premeditation in this case, and Sakthivel had attempted to assist the victim, Mr Manjunatha Louis Ravi, after he fell to the ground.
But the judge noted that Sakthivel had claimed trial and made serious allegations against the investigation officer during the trial, which demonstrated a lack of remorse.
DJ Lee also sentenced Sakthivel to another two weeks’ jail for a separate charge of giving false information to a public servant while out on bail, to which Sakthivel had previously pleaded guilty.
Another charge of affray and an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 were taken into consideration for sentencing.
According to court documents, Mr Manjunatha, Sakthivel, Sakthivel’s wife and his godsister were in a taxi on the way to a Housing Board block in Gangsa Road at around 11pm on July 18, 2020.

The relationship between the two men was not mentioned in court documents.
A dispute arose between Sakthivel and Mr Manjunatha that eventually led to an altercation between them after they had alighted.
Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren said in his closing submissions that Sakthivel subsequently punched Mr Manjunatha from behind.

Mr Manjunatha fell and hit his head on the ground.
An eyewitness called 995, and Mr Manjunatha was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
A scan revealed bleeding on the surface of his brain, along with brain swelling and a suggestion of brain damage. His prognosis by neurosurgeons was poor.
The victim was subsequently disconnected from the mechanical ventilator, and died on July 23, 2020.
An autopsy showed that Mr Manjunatha’s cause of death was head and neck injuries.

The defence’s position at the 16-day trial was that the initial injury Mr Manjunatha had from the fall was not fatal. Instead, it was when Sakthivel tried to pick him up and dropped him that the initial injury was aggravated and resulted in his death.
DJ Lee said he accepted the evidence from Sakthivel’s lawyer, Mr Sanjiv Vaswani, that Mr Manjunatha had been dropped twice after Sakthivel and his godsister tried to lift him from the ground.
The judge also said he accepted the evidence that Sakthivel had moved Mr Manjunatha to a grass patch before an ambulance arrived.
The judge added that there was reasonable doubt whether Mr Manjunatha would have died from the initial injury from the fall had he not been “dropped and manhandled”.
But the judge added: “While the dropping and manhandling of the victim after the fall may have aggravated his initial injury, the situation had arisen purely as a result of the fall. If not for the fall, and the victim’s inability to get up on his own thereafter, (the two of them) would not have attempted to lift or move him.
“In fact, if not for the (injury) sustained by the victim from the fall, the dropping and manhandling of the victim per se would not have resulted in his death.”
According to court documents detailing his other offence, Sakthivel had violated his court-imposed bail curfew hours of between midnight and 6am on Feb 9, 2023, at the Magic World nightclub.
He had told a police officer that he was home at 11.07pm on Feb 8, 2023, when he was not.
The police later received a tip-off from a member of the public and trawled police camera footage, revealing Sakthivel’s violation of the curfew.