Riot breaks out in Little India

[Heaven]

Man gets 25 months' jail and cane for flipping police car in Little India Riot

Published on Oct 2, 2014 12:28 PM

The overturned police cars in the aftermath of the Little India riot on Dec 9, 2013. -- ST FILE PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

By Elena Chong

SINGAPORE - An Indian national became the 20th man to be convicted when he was jailed for 25 months and ordered to be given three strokes of the cane for rioting in Little India.

Construction worker Chinnapa Govindarasu, 31, admitted to being part of an unlawful assembly with at least four others, whose aim was to overawe by show of criminal force along Race Course Road on Dec 8 last year. The charge said one or more of them used force by flipping a police car. The cost of the damage came up to $3,150.

A district court heard that Govindarasu was heading towards Race Course Road that Sunday evening after drinking a large amount of whisky and beer with friends. He had intended to take the transport back to his dormitory in Kranji.

Police arrived in two cars to carry out their duties and were later unable to return to their vehicles parked along Race Course Road due to the escalating violence.

 

[Heaven]

Little India riot: Man given 14 months in jail for rioting

Published on Oct 7, 2014 12:11 PM
By Ian Poh

SINGAPORE - Construction worker Malesan Chinnathambi was sentenced to 14 months in jail on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to rioting in last December's Little India riot. The Indian national, 23, was the 21st person to be dealt with over the unrest.

The court heard that Malesan, whose dormitory was in the area, had arrived at the Little India MRT station at 10.15pm that night after meeting a friend elsewhere earlier.

He exited the station onto Race Course Road, where he saw the riot unfolding.

Malesan was handed a piece of concrete, which he threw in the direction of the bus at the centre of the riot. He also took pictures of the bus with his phone camera to show to roommates.

 

[Hasbro]

Instigator in Little India riot gets three strokes of the cane on top of 25-month jail term

Published on Nov 28, 2014 2:04 PM

This ambulance was one of several vehicles which were set on fire during a riot that broke out along Race Course Road in Little India riot on 8 December 2013.Indian national Samiyappan Sellathurai, who was jailed 25 months for inciting others to damage public property, was on Friday given an additional three strokes of the cane. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

By Selina Lum

SINGAPORE - Indian national Samiyappan Sellathurai, who was jailed 25 months for inciting others to damage public property in the Little India riots in December, was on Friday given an additional three strokes of the cane.

Prosecutors had appealed for the 42-year-old to be given caning on top of his jail term. Samiyappan had instigated others to remove a dislodge a concrete slab from the pavement. He then smashed the slab into pieces which he hurled at police cars, emergency vehicles and public servants. He later incited others to pick up a metal rack and ram it repeatedly against a side wall of the Little India MRT station.

Allowing the appeal, Justice Chan Seng Onn said that Samiyappan played the roles of both instigator and active participant. He said vandalism was involved as there was destruction of public property. If Samiyappan had been charged with vandalism, he would have been caned, explained the judge.

 

[Heaven]

Little India riot: Foreign worker jailed a year for assaulting a police officer

Published on Dec 2, 2014 1:58 PM

An ambulance burns after a riot that broke out along Race Course Road in Little India riot on Dec 8, 2013. A construction worker was sentenced to a year in prison on Tuesday, for assaulting a police officer during the Little India riot last year. -- ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

By Ian Poh

SINGAPORE - A construction worker was sentenced to a year in prison on Tuesday, for assaulting a police officer during the Little India riot last year.

Ganesan Periyaiah, 25, is the 22nd individual to be dealt with over last year's incident. The Indian national threw a glass beer bottle at the female police officer, who had just arrived at the scene and was not wearing a shield or helmet. The officer dodged the bottle which landed on the ground and shattered near her.

The court heard that after drinks with friends in the area, Ganesan received a call from a friend, who told him an Indian national had been killed. The friend warned him not to go to the area where the commotion was but Ganesan headed to Race Course Road with two others to see what was happening.

The victim, police corporal Saadiah Hamzah, 40, had arrived at the scene to join other officers. After noticing that projectiles were being thrown, she decided to retrieve her shield and helmet from her vehicle. This was when Ganesan approached her and committed the offence.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok said that after his "audacious" act of assaulting the officer, Ganesan defied orders to disperse. He loitered along Race Course Road until Special Operations Command troops forced the mob into Kerbau Road, where he lingered for a while to watch other rioters pelt the officers with projectiles.

Ganesan's lawyer, Mr Raj Mannar, said the man retrieved and threw the bottle on the spur of the moment. His client, who came here to work in 2007, wants to return to India to be with his family and mother, who is terminally ill.

Ganesan, who pleaded guilty, has been in remand since Dec 10 last year. He is expected to be released from prison soon for good behaviour.

For assaulting a public servant in the discharge of her duty, he could have been jailed for up to eight years and fined.

 

[Untouchables]

Little India riot: Two sentenced to jail for rioting

Published on Feb 10, 2015 12:41 PM

Riot police standing guard in Little India after a crowd of more than 400 people turned unruly on Dec 8, 2013. Two Indian nationals, Mohan Rajendran, 26, and Sivaraman Sathiyamoorthy, 27 were on Tuesday sentenced to jail for their roles in the riot. -- PHOTO: ST FILE

By Ian Poh

SINGAPORE - Two Indian nationals were on Tuesday sentenced to jail for their roles in the Little India riot on Dec 8, 2013.

Mohan Rajendran, 26, and Sivaraman Sathiyamoorthy, 27, received 27 and 25 months' imprisonment respectively.

They had earlier pleaded guilty to being members of unlawful assemblies, both of which aimed to commit mischief against the bus at the centre of the riot.

Both men had gotten involved in the riot while returning to their dormitories after drinks with friends, and ended up attacking the bus at different times.

 

[Gatsby]

Two Little India rioters jailed for more than two years each

Ian Poh The Straits Times Friday, Feb 13, 2015

(File photo) This ambulance was one of several vehicles which were set on fire during a riot that broke out along Race Course Road in Little India riot on 8 December 2013.

TWO Indian nationals working here were yesterday sentenced to more than two years' jail for their roles in the Little India riot on Dec 8, 2013.

This leaves just one more person, out of the 25 people charged over the incident, to be dealt with by the courts.

Mohan Rajendran, 26, and Sivaraman Sathiyamoorthy, 27, received 27 months and 25 months' imprisonment respectively.

They had earlier pleaded guilty to being members of unlawful assemblies designed to "commit mischief" against the bus which triggered the riot after a man was knocked down and died.

Both men had become involved in the riot while returning to their dormitories after drinks with friends, and ended up attacking the bus at different times.

At about 9.50pm that day, Sivaraman threw a stone and a dustbin at the bus.

He gestured violently at the bus timekeeper, who was in the vehicle, and also threw an umbrella and another unidentified item through a broken window.

Despite knowing the timekeeper and others were inside the bus seeking refuge, he helped an unidentified member of the crowd to climb in, the court heard.

The timekeeper was assaulted and suffered several injuries.

Sivaraman's friend, Moorthy Kabildev, 25, was with him at the time and had also thrown projectiles at the bus.

Moorthy was sentenced to two years in jail last June.

At around 10.50pm, Mohan tried to topple the bus by pushing it, and kicked it twice. He then threw several items at it, including a plastic crate.

Besides encouraging others to take part in the attack, he also tried to set alight a piece of cardboard, and threw it into the bus.

Mohan later again kicked the bus and tried to topple it.

Mohan and Sivaraman are the 23rd and 24th men to be dealt with over the riot.

They could each have been jailed for up to seven years and caned for rioting.

Trial dates have been fixed in April for the last accused, 29-year-old Arun Kaliamurthy.

[email protected]

 

[TauChiak]

Last man to be dealt with in Little India riot found guilty of failing to disperse

Published on May 28, 2015 1:35 PM

Arun Kaliamurthy, an Indian national who has a master's degree in information systems and was looking for a job here, had claimed trial to a single charge of failing to disperse from the scene despite police orders to do so. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Amir Hussain

SINGAPORE - The last of 25 men to be dealt with for their roles in a riot in Little India more than a year ago was found guilty in court on Thursday.

Arun Kaliamurthy, an Indian national who has a master's degree in information systems and was looking for a job here, had claimed trial to a single charge of failing to disperse from the scene despite police orders to do so.

The 29-year-old will be sentenced by District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan on June 2.

Twenty-five Indian nationals were initially charged with rioting. Some, including Arun, had their charges amended to failure to disperse and obstruction. All the others have been convicted and sentenced to jail, some with caning.

Arun is one of only two men to claim trial.

The fracas on the night of Dec 8, 2013, had erupted after a bus accident along Race Course Road killed 33-year-old construction worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu. By the end of the night, 24 emergency vehicles had been damaged or set on fire and 43 enforcement officers injured. It was the first large-scale riot here in over four decades.

In its closing submissions to the court, the prosecution noted that while Arun initially claimed he did not hear police commands clearly, he admitted during the three-day trial that he heard the words "Disperse immediately!" from a Police Tactical Vehicle at Race Course Road.

He also had "ample opportunity to leave the scene" between 10.42pm and 11.10pm, but chose not to do so, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sellakumaran and Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Dillon Kok told the court.

In his mitigation, Arun's lawyer Shashi Nathan said his client was "merely an innocent bystander" in the riot.

The harm caused by Arun's conduct was "slight", and he has also been unable to work since his arrest, Mr Nathan added.

The defence lawyer urged the court to impose a fine, or a one-day jail term.

But APP Kok noted the "immense public disquiet" caused by the scale of the riot, and called for a deterrent sentence of at least 16 to 18 weeks' jail.

Arun faces up to two years in jail and/or a fine for continuing in an assembly of five or more people likely to cause a disturbance of public peace, after the assembly has been lawfully commanded to disperse.

 

[Prodigy]

Jail for last accused in Little India riot case

Olivia Ho The Straits Times Thursday, Jun 04, 2015

The last of 25 men to be dealt with for their roles in a riot in Little India more than a year ago was sentenced yesterday to 16 weeks in jail.

Arun Kaliamurthy, an Indian national with a master's degree in information systems, plans to appeal against the judgment.

The 29-year-old, who was looking for a job in Singapore, had claimed trial to a single charge of failing to disperse from the scene despite police orders to do so.

District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said that the accused had "exhibited a degree of persistence in remaining in the eye of the storm" and had to be "forcibly displaced" from the scene.

Arun's lawyer Shashi Nathan had earlier argued that the harm caused by his client's behaviour was "slight", and thus called for a fine or a nominal jail term of one day.

The other 24 Indian nationals charged in relation to the riot have been convicted and sentenced to jail, some with caning.

Arun is one of only two men to claim trial.

The fracas on the night of Dec 8, 2013, had erupted after a bus accident along Race Course Road killed 33-year-old construction worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu.

Arun could have been jailed up to two years and/or fined for continuing in an assembly of five or more people likely to cause a disturbance of public peace, after being lawfully commanded to disperse.