Ah nehs...

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Jail for drunk motorcyclist who tried to bribe police with $55 after dozing off on the road​

Krishna Rao Narisama Naidoo was jailed for four weeks, fined $5,000 and disqualified from driving for 30 months. PHOTO: CORRUPT PRACTICES INVESTIGATION BUREAU
Osmond Chia

May 11, 2022

SINGAPORE - High on alcohol, a motorcyclist dozed off while riding and fell, prompting a passer-by to alert the traffic police.
After the officers found that he was intoxicated, he tried to bribe them with $55 to let him off, leading to his arrest.
On Wednesday (May 11), Malaysian Krishna Rao Narisama Naidoo, 35, pleaded guilty to three charges for offences that include bribery and drink driving and was jailed for four weeks, fined $5,000 and disqualified from driving for 30 months.
An additional charge was taken into consideration during sentencing and he will serve an additional five weeks' jail as he is unable to pay the fine.
The court heard that on Nov 21 last year, he drank three cans of beer at home and headed to his workplace at Pioneer Place. There, he drank another two cans before he left for home on his motorcycle at 10pm.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair said Krishna was riding along the Pioneer Road roundabout off the Ayer Rajah Expressway when he dozed off and fell as he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to skid.
A passer-by contacted the police, who turned up at the scene and noticed that Krishna reeked of alcohol.


After he admitted to the officers that he had consumed alcohol, he slipped a $5 note to one of the officers and said in Malay: "Please help. Please don't summon me too much."
The officers continued to interview him and conducted a breathalyser test, which Krishna failed.
As they searched him, Krishna reached into his bag for $50 and offered it to the same officer, saying: "You take this, we close the case, I go back home and sleep."
The DPP, who sought a sentence of four to six weeks' jail, a $5,000 fine and 30 to 36 months' disqualification from driving, said the officers did not accept the bribes and that Krishna was arrested on the spot.
In his mitigation plea, he pleaded with the judge for leniency and said that he was needed at home to look after his pregnant wife, who often suffered from headaches.
In his sentencing, District Judge Eugene Teo noted that Krishna was a first-time offender and also considered his personal situation.

The judge said: "It must be very difficult for you, but I must emphasise the seriousness of the corruption charge."
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said in a statement about the case on Wednesday that the maximum penalty for a corruption offence is up to five years' jail or a fine of up to $100,000, or both.

 

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Man celebrating birthday punched cleaner and broke his jaw during argument​

Samuel Devaraj

May 18, 2022

SINGAPORE - On his birthday, a man punched a cleaner and fractured his jaw during an argument over the victim sleeping in a bin centre.
Sanjeevan Maha Lingam, 43, was jailed for 21 months and 4 weeks in court on Wednesday (May 18) for this offence on Sept 24 last year and several others, including hurling racist comments at a police officer.
The Singaporean pleaded guilty to a total of five charges - one for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, two for using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty, and two under the Protection from Harassment Act.
Court documents do not mention what Sanjeevan was working as at the time of his offences.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordon Li said the cleaner had finished work at about 7pm and gone to sleep on a sofa in the bin centre at Block 1 Jalan Kukoh.
Sanjeevan woke the cleaner up at about 11.15pm, and they got into a dispute over the cleaner resting in the bin centre.
"In the course of the dispute, (Sanjeevan) punched the victim once on his left cheek, with intention to cause grievous hurt to the victim," said DPP Li.

​

When the cleaner went to see a doctor for pain in his jaw the next day, an X-ray revealed he had suffered a jaw fracture and needed to undergo surgery.
During his mitigation, Sanjeevan, who did not have a lawyer, said he had no one to celebrate his birthday with as his parents were not around.
His decision to wake the cleaner up to give him a piece of cake had led to the dispute, he added, without providing more details.

Twelve days earlier, on Sept 12, two police officers responded to a report about a disturbance caused by a drunk at Hong Lim Market and Food Centre.
Sanjeevan, who was holding a bottle and reeking of alcohol, became agitated and used abusive language on an officer who was talking to him. The officers arrested him and seized a plastic stool that he had allegedly thrown.
When he was in a lock-up at the Police Cantonment Complex, Sanjeevan sat on a bench with his left arm cuffed to it while holding a slipper in his other hand.
As one of the officers was filing a report about the plastic stool, Sanjeevan threw the slipper and it hit her left arm. The officer was not injured.

In another incident on Feb 21 this year, Sergeant Muhammad Firdaus Hussain and his partner were dispatched around 1.15pm to check on a report that a man was harassing women in the vicinity of Block 34 Upper Cross Street.
While patrolling the area, the officers came across Sanjeevan at a fitness corner in 51 Chin Swee Road and approached him as he fit the description of the suspect in the report.
After finding a glass pipe in his backpack, they arrested him and took him to the Police Cantonment Complex.
While waiting for his antigen rapid test swab to be taken at the station, Sanjeevan refused to comply with the officers' instructions and repeatedly pulled down his mask.
He then suddenly stood up, pulled down his mask and spat on Sergeant Firdaus' face. He also hurled racist insults at the officer.
Calling for a jail sentence of two years, three months and four weeks for Sanjeevan, DPP Li cited a list of his prior offences while noting that he was no stranger to violence and had shown repeated defiant conduct towards authority.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Sanjeevan could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.
For using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty, he could have been jailed for up to four years or fined, or both.
For an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to $10,000, or both.

 

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Man riding e-bike illegally on footpath jailed after woman, 74, fractures shoulder in accident​

S. Davanand was sentenced to four days' jail. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Samuel Devaraj

May 19, 2022

SINGAPORE - A 74-year-old woman fell and fractured her shoulder after her umbrella got hooked on the power-assisted bicycle (PAB) of a man who was riding illegally on the footpath.
S. Davanand, 33, a part-time Deliveroo rider at the time, was sentenced to four days' jail in court on Thursday (May 19).
He had pleaded guilty to one charge of causing hurt by performing a rash act that endangers the personal safety of others. Another charge over riding his PAB on a footpath was taken into consideration during his sentencing.
PABs, also known as e-bikes, can be ridden only on roads and cycling paths.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenny Yang told the court the victim was walking along the footpath of Lorong 1 Toa Payoh at about 1.25pm on March 30, 2020, to pick up her granddaughter from CHIJ Primary Toa Payoh.
At the same time, Davanand was riding his PAB, which weighed 20.05 kg, on the footpath from the opposite direction . The bicycle was above the maximum permissible weight of 20kg.
DPP Yang said Davanand knew he was not supposed to ride a PAB on a footpath and was also aware of high pedestrian traffic on the footpath as a number of people were picking up children from the school.

"Notwithstanding this, he continued riding his PAB on the said footpath," DPP Yang added.
After the victim's umbrella got hooked on the bicycle, she fell and her jaw and right shoulder hit the ground. She was dragged along the footpath for a short distance.
"The collision occurred so quickly that the victim did not know that she had been hit," said DPP Yang.
After an X-ray scan revealed the shoulder fracture, the woman underwent surgery on April 7.
Her medical bills amounted to $17,246 and she was reimbursed $8,697 by her insurer and $8,000 by Deliveroo. Davanand compensated her the rest of her medical expenses on April 26 this year.
DPP Yang called for Davanand to be jailed for a few days to a week, citing in his written sentencing submissions the need to deter like-minded individuals from such callousness.
Davanand's lawyer, Mr Ashvin Hariharan, asked for a jail sentence of three to four days, noting that his client had helped the woman after the accident and had shown genuine remorse.

He also said the PAB's motor was not running at the time of the accident.
For causing hurt by committing a rash act, Davanand could have been jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.

 

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S'pore start-up Zilingo fires CEO Ankiti Bose, reserves right to pursue legal action​

Ms Ankiti Bose said her employment was terminated on grounds of "insubordination", while Zilingo said the ouster followed a probe into complaints of serious financial irregularities. PHOTO: ZILINGO

Choo Yun Ting
Business Correspondent

May 20, 2022

SINGAPORE - E-commerce platform Zilingo has terminated its chief executive Ankiti Bose, also the co-founder of the firm, following an investigation into complaints of serious financial irregularities.
In a statement on Friday (May 20), the Singapore-based firm said it decided to terminate Ms Bose’s employment “with cause” and that it reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action.
The start-up, which counts Sequoia Capital India, Singapore state investor Temasek, and the Economic Development Board’s investment arm EDBI among its investors, had earlier suspended Ms Bose on March 31.
In its statement, Zilingo said that Ms Bose brought “certain harassment-related issues pertaining to past time periods” to the attention of the firm’s board on April 11.
These issues did not include any harassment complaints against investors or their nominees, it added, noting that a top consulting firm had been engaged to look into the claims brought forth.
“The investigation has concluded that the company took appropriate action and followed due process to address these complaints that were brought to their notice, contrary to media reports that have suggested that the suspension and investigation into Ankiti Bose were aimed at suppressing the said harassment claims,” Zilingo said.
Bloomberg News reported that Ms Bose said in a separate statement that her employment was terminated on grounds of insubordination, after being suspended on the basis of an “anonymous whistle-blower complaint”.

In its statement, Zilingo said: “The company is deeply pained and disappointed to see the manner in which the board, investors and employees have been constantly attacked through ostensibly leaked and fake information, along with what unfortunately appears to be paid and defamatory social media campaigns throughout the investigation period.”
This has cause irreparable damage to the start-up, board, staff and backers, it added.
The company noted that following the recall of loans by debt holders, an independent financial adviser was appointed and is in the midst of assessing options for the business.

More information will be provided in due course, it said.
Ms Bose had earlier been suspended from her duties while the start-up’s accounting practices were investigated. Regulatory checks show that Zilingo’s last financial statement was filed in 2019.
Ms Bose, who co-founded the company with Mr Dhruv Kapoor in 2015, has disputed claims of wrongdoing.
Commenting on corporate governance issues that start-ups face, NUS Business School’s Professor Mak Yuen Teen noted that such issues are not uncommon. Start-ups here and elsewhere have faced the likes of toxic culture, product fraud, financial irregularities and conflict of interest, he noted.
“Founders are by their nature entrepreneurial and risk takers, and may push the boundaries. They are also often charismatic and able to convince people to buy into their vision,” he said.
Prof Mak added that with problems emerging in start-ups, investors may be more careful about due diligence before investing and may demand better corporate governance, and start-ups that are not prepared for these may find it harder to attract investors.
Start-ups need to ensure that they have at least the basic corporate governance in place, he said.
This includes measures such as having accounts audited by a respectable audit firm on a timely basis, having proper internal controls for key business operations, having an internal audit of the key risk areas, and having a properly constituted board with some independent members.
Singapore Institute of Directors vice-chairman Adrian Chan said that while he does not believe confidence in the boards or founders of start-ups has necessarily been shaken by Zilingo’s situation, there are lessons to be learnt from this case and the issues that have surfaced.
Mr Chan, who also serves on the Enterprise Board of the SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, noted that start-up boards and founders should be trained and equipped with the necessary governance skills and knowledge to run their businesses effectively.
“Paying heed to corporate governance makes good business sense and should not be viewed as a burden. And if boards fail to recognise this early on, they may find themselves paying a higher price later on,” he said.

 

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Cyclist jailed 5 months for punching man who filmed him assaulting another pedestrian​

Bystander who took out the camera became the victim.
Irwan Shah
May 18, 2022

Sivarkarthik Bernard, 28, was sentenced to five months' jail on May 17, 2022, for punching a man who filmed him assaulting another pedestrian, reported CNA.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
Two other charges of voluntarily causing hurt and harassment were considered by the court.

An argument on the pavement​

Sivarkarthik was cycling on a pavement near Block 96A Henderson Road on July 22, 2021, at around 6:45pm.
A 63-year-old man was walking in front of Sivarkarthik while listening to a voice message from his phone.
CNA reported that the cyclist rang his bicycle bell but could not get the man's attention.
The cyclist then decided to narrowly squeeze past the man on his bicycle.
Upset, the man shouted at him and an argument ensued.
Both men hurled expletives and blamed each other for being inconsiderate.
The argument escalated and Sivarkarthik jabbed the man on his forehead, causing the latter to fall.
He continued assaulting the man with additional blows to his head and squared two solid kicks on the man's rucksack.

Pedestrians came to help​

Two pedestrians saw the ruckus and one of them tried to stop the fight.
The other pedestrian, a 56-year-old man, proceeded to record a video of the incident on his phone.
Sivarkathik questioned the man about his intent but was answered with a question by the man instead.
The cyclist became upset and punched the man in the face.
He subsequently fell and Sivarkathik took the opportunity to jab the man several times on the head and only stopped when he realised that the man's face was bleeding.
The man tried to shield himself from Sivarkathik's punches by covering his head with his hands and did not fight back during the attack.

Suffered injuries​

The 56-year-old man was brought to a hospital where it was revealed that he had a fracture on his eye socket, a haemorrhage in his eye and a gash on his face from the attack.
Sivarkarthik was arrested that evening after a pedestrian called the police regarding the incident.
He was ordered by the judge during the sentencing to compensate both his victims' hospital bills totalling S$1,1017.

 

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Man gets jail, caning for armed robbery of moneylending shop in Jurong East​

The man and his accomplices robbed licensed moneylender OT Credit in Jurong East of $48,000 in November 2020. PHOTO: ST FILE

Jean Iau

May 23, 2022

SINGAPORE - When his accomplices were hesitant about going through with a robbery, the 23-year-old cajoled them into it.
Karrtik Stalniraj eventually convinced two others - Kotta Kumar Jeswanth, 20, and Tusheintar Segaran, 22 - and they robbed licensed moneylender OT Credit in Jurong East of $48,000 while armed with karambit knives in November 2020.
On Monday (May 23), Karrtik was sentenced to five years, eight months and five weeks' imprisonment, 12 strokes of the cane and fined $3,000 for the armed robbery and other unrelated offences.
These offences include stabbing another man, spitting at a police officer, meeting others for drinks during the circuit breaker period and stealing the personal belongings of a man who was sleeping in Jurong Central Park.
Kotta, who was a teenager at the time of the offence, was ordered to undergo reformative training, while Tusheintar was sentenced to two years' jail and six strokes of the cane.
The court heard that the trio agreed to rob OT Credit at Block 135 Jurong Gateway Road as Karrtik needed money for Deepavali and to buy a gift for his then girlfriend. He suggested targeting the shop as there were only two female shop assistants working there.
At noon on Nov 19, 2020, the trio arrived in the vicinity and Tusheintar entered the shop wearing a stolen motorcycle helmet but left without making any inquiries.

At around 4pm, Karrtik decided that he did not want to wait any longer and suggested that they go to the shop together.
This time, he and Kotta would enter the shop first while Tusheintar would serve as a lookout.
Karrtik suggested this new arrangement as Kotta and Tusheintar appeared to be losing interest in the robbery.

A 36-year-old manager of OT Credit was alone when the trio entered the shop.
On closed-circuit television footage played in court, Kotta is seen rushing towards the manager. He points a knife at her and holds her by her hair while stashing money into a bag.
Karrtik received $14,500 for his involvement in the robbery.

The karambit knife used by Kotta Kumar Jeswanth. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
The trio went to Bugis to buy new clothes, and Karrtik bought an iPhone 12 Pro Max for his then girlfriend.
The men were tracked down by the police and arrested in Geylang at 1.35am the next day.
Separately, on March 16, 2020, at about 5.30pm, Karrtik got into a fight with another man, K. Dheenan Leroy, who brought a Swiss army knife to confront him.
Karrtik's brother-in-law, Selva Vinayaga Prakash Ravoo, was with him and both men armed themselves with stun guns.
A fight broke out in which Dheenan stabbed Selva. Karrtik jumped in front of Dheenan to protect Selva but was stabbed in his left shoulder.

When Dheenan fled, Karrtik picked up the knife and chased Dheenan to an HDB block in Jurong West Street 91. He then punched Dheenan in the head and stabbed him in the right leg several times.
Karrtik and Selva were traced by the police and their stun guns were seized.
For their roles in the incident, Selva was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail and fined $3,000 in 2020, while Dheenan was sentenced to seven months’ jail last year.
For voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery, Karrtik could have been sentenced to between five and 20 years' jail and at least 12 strokes of the cane.

 

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Future for Singapore start-up Zilingo remains unclear after firing of CEO Ankiti Bose​

Ms Ankiti Bose was fired following an investigation into complaints of serious financial irregularities. ST PHOTO: FELINE LIM

Choo Yun Ting
Business Correspondent

MAY 28, 2022

SINGAPORE - In 2015, Ms Ankiti Bose and Mr Dhruv Kapoor launched Zilingo in Singapore, touting it as a site where small fashion merchants from cities like Bangkok could grow an online presence.
The idea was born after she visited Bangkok's Chatuchak market and felt there could be a huge demand if the merchants' goods were sold online.
In 2018, the start-up moved into other business-to-business segments.
Ms Bose, now 30, was the chief executive, and Mr Kapoor, now 31, who was her neighbour in Bangalore, its chief technology and product officer. She was based in Bangkok and later Singapore, and he in India.
The company had seemed on course to grow and transform fashion supply chains. It last raised US$226 million (S$311 million) at a valuation of US$970 million in 2019, in a round led by its key investor Sequoia Capital India.
Other investors that participated included Singapore's Temasek and Burda Principal Investments, which is based in Germany. That brought the total amount raised by the company to US$308 million.
Its Singapore office is in Bendemeer and the company has around 500 employees across eight countries.

Several members of Zilingo's board stepped down in March and April this year - Sequoia Capital India's managing director Shailendra Singh, Temasek's Xu Wei Yang, former Burda Principal Investments managing director for Asia Albert Shyy, and Mr Andre Soelistyo, CEO of GoTo.
On April 12, Bloomberg reported that Ms Bose had been suspended from her duties after efforts to raise funds led to questions about the firm's accounts.
The report said she was called to a meeting with three board members on March 31 and told about "serious" complaints about discrepancies in accounts and mismanagement.

In a May 27 article, Bloomberg reported that the allegations of financial irregularities included questions about Zilingo's accounting practices and payments to several service providers that were signed by Ms Bose without the knowledge of senior executives.
Regulatory filings show the start-up last filed financial statements for 2019.
On May 20, Zilingo said it had fired Ms Bose "following an investigation led by an independent forensics firm that was commissioned to look into complaints of serious financial irregularities". It added that it "reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action".


It is not clear what Zilingo's next steps are. The company did not respond to queries about a new CEO and information on its investigations.
In its May 20 statement, Zilingo said that following the recall of loans by debt holders, an independent financial adviser was appointed to assess options for the business and more information will be provided in due course.
In 2020, amid Covid-19, Zilingo laid off staff as it downsized operations in markets like Singapore and Indonesia. The leadership team also took a pay cut.
Commenting on corporate governance issues faced by start-ups, Professor Aris Stouraitis from Hong Kong Baptist University told The Straits Times that recent cases, such as that of health-tech start-up Theranos in the United States, have highlighted how the monitoring of management may be absent in start-ups.
Proper corporate governance and information disclosure are important, he said, and it is imperative for venture capital firms and other non-founding shareholders who have provided capital to play a diligent monitoring role. The role of auditors is also crucial, he added.

 

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'This is my life, this is my reputation': Zilingo's ex-CEO Ankiti Bose speaks out after her firing​

Choo Yun Ting
Business Correspondent


MAY 28, 2022

SINGAPORE - A week after she was fired from fashion e-commerce platform Zilingo, co-founder and former chief executive Ankiti Bose continues to refer to it as her "baby".
"Not a day in the last six and a half, almost seven, years has been a holiday. It's been, you know, all about this baby. Mine," she said.
"So it's been incredibly hard, and I don't know if I'm going to get all the answers."
In an interview with The Straits Times last Thursday (May 26), Ms Bose spoke of her sense of loss after being kicked out of the company she started, and how she wanted to find answers.
On March 31, the 30-year-old was suspended from her duties at Zilingo after shareholders and the company's board received complaints of alleged financial irregularities.
On May 20, Zilingo said she had been fired following an investigation into the complaints and that it "reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action".
The start-up was co-founded in 2015 by Ms Bose and Mr Dhruv Kapoor, the company's chief technology and product officer, and attracted investors such as Sequoia Capital India, Burda Principal Investments and Singapore state investor Temasek.

Over the years, the young, eloquent Ms Bose became the face of Zilingo, appearing at global conferences alongside established industry peers. She was featured in Fortune's 40 Under 40 in 2019 and, together with Mr Kapoor, made Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 list in 2018.
In a 90-minute interview at her apartment in central Singapore, she appeared confident as she talked about her desire to defend her reputation and how she was determined to communicate with the company's stakeholders.
On her sacking, which she found out via an e-mail sent to her from the company, she said it came as a surprise.

"I was keen to have more conversations and provide more explanation... about what was going on," she said.
Ms Bose, an Indian national and a Singapore permanent resident, said she has yet to see the report from the investigations commissioned by Zilingo to look into claims of financial irregularities.
Her termination letter also cited "insubordination" as one of the reasons for her firing, she said.
"I have still not seen the report used to terminate me or had a chance to contest it," she said.
She added that she has been spending time trying to speak with shareholders and ex-colleagues to understand what is going on with the company.

Ms Bose said she has not been allowed to speak with shareholders, whom she said she was "very, very close to", over the past two months. Her recent communications with the company and its board have largely been through legal representatives.
"People keep asking me, why are you fighting so hard to find answers? But you know, I just turned 30, this is my life, this is my reputation. This is everything to me. It means more than anything else for me to speak to my shareholders and my stakeholders and my employees, to understand what has happened and explain my position."
She added: "I think it's important that we also think in a way that is constructive and reconciliatory between stakeholders so that we might do what's good for the company and its hundreds of employees. I don't know if that's possible, but I hope so."
An only child, Ms Bose grew up in Mumbai, where she attended RN Podar School, a private secondary school, and St Xavier's College, a private autonomous higher education institution, where she studied economics.
She started her career at consultancy firm McKinsey & Co in Mumbai before moving to Sequoia Capital's office in Bangalore. She left the venture capital company to start Zilingo with Mr Kapoor.
She has been living in Singapore for the past four years and her parents are currently living with her in her rented apartment, a spacious unit with furnishings in neutral tones of white, grey and brown. She declined to have her home photographed.
In an Instagram post last Friday, Ms Bose said she had to deal with hate messages and threats of violence, and that her personal photos and other documents may have been improperly accessed and circulated on the Internet.

She told ST she barely left her apartment during the period she was suspended other than to take occasional walks. She spoke to her lawyers mostly through video-conferencing or e-mail.
"I've barely slept in the last two months," she added.
Asked about the alleged financial irregularities surrounding Zilingo, she said the pandemic was a tough period for the start-up and it had to take the difficult decision to restructure some of its teams.
She had been aware there were delays in its financial reporting. Regulatory checks show the start-up last filed financial statements for 2019.
Zilingo had a finance team of over 20 people as well as a Big Four firm auditor and Big Four adviser, she said.
"While I was still CEO, we were waiting for the proper advice from them on how to take things forward," she said. "I couldn't touch the accounts since I'm not a qualified chartered accountant."

Zilingo co-founder and former chief executive Ankiti Bose spoke of her sense of loss after being kicked out of the company she started, and how she wanted to find answers. ST PHOTO: FELINE LIM
She said it is common for many start-ups to be late in filing their accounts and it was a particular struggle in 2020 and 2021 given the pandemic, but "it's not an excuse".
She said she is in the dark about where the company is headed, but she meanwhile retains an 8 per cent stake in the firm, the same as Mr Kapoor.
Asked what her next steps are, she said: "I think I would love to still see what is the best thing that can be done for the company in this current situation."
Hundreds of people have spent countless sleepless nights to build the company, she said.
"I want to be positive, but I think it's important for me to find out what happened and try to help... to steer the ship forward," she said.

 

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Vistara fined after untrained pilots found to have landed passenger plane in Indian city​

The first officer who landed the plane had not completed the required training and the captain was not trained to supervise. PHOTO: VISTARA/FACEBOOK

JUN 2, 2022

NEW DELHI (BLOOMBERG) - Vistara, an Indian joint venture of conglomerate Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, has been fined after a first officer landed a passenger flight without completing the required training.
The incident, which occurred during a landing in the central Indian city of Indore in August last year, was a serious violation that endangered the lives of passengers on board, according to a senior official at the nation's aviation regulator who declined to be identified talking about a confidential probe.
The captain of the flight, which departed from New Delhi, was also not simulator trained on how to guide a first officer during such landings, the official said.
The plane ultimately landed safely without incident and no one was hurt.
Vistara - 51 per cent owned by India's largest conglomerate Tata and the remainder by Singapore Airlines - was fined one million rupees (S$17,700), the official said.
Concerns about flying have escalated around the world, with rusty pilots returning to the cockpit after lengthy absences during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A global shortage of trained pilots has also hampered the aviation industry - one of the worst-hit sectors during the pandemic - hampering a faster-than-expected recovery in air travel.

Vistara gave take-off and landing clearance to the first officer without conducting any training, the official said. Both first officers and captains must train on flight simulators before they can land, or even guide colleagues to land, an aircraft with passengers on board. Vistara violated those norms, according to the official.
The pilots had adequate training to conduct a so-called supervised take-off and landing, and their certificates were issued by a previous employer, for which Vistara claimed the credit, the airline said in a statement on Thursday.
The incident, which Vistara voluntarily reported to regulators, was a "regrettable violation", and the pilots will be trained again to comply with regulations, the airline said.

 

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Clarke Quay gathering: Man fined for not wearing mask properly amid pandemic​

Assiddiq Surani was fined $1,700 after he pleaded guilty. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

June 10, 2022

SINGAPORE - A man who was given a composition fine in 2020 for breaching Covid-19 regulations did not learn his lesson and reoffended during a New Year's gathering near Clarke Quay in January.
Assiddiq Surani, 22, failed to wear his mask properly when a teenage YouTube content creator interviewed him.
He also did not keep a distance of at least 1m from the content creator, Kotra Venkata Sai Rohankrishna, and another teenager, Glaxy Low Xuan Ming.
Kotra was dressed in a Spider-Man costume while Low donned a wrestling mask.
Assiddiq was fined $1,700 on Friday (June 10) after he pleaded guilty to an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
The two 19-year-olds were dealt with in court earlier for flouting Covid-19 rules.
On May 31, Kotra was fined $4,000 while Low was fined $2,000 on April 26.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Sim told the court on Friday that Assiddiq was in Jurong West when he earlier committed an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020.
He was given a composition fine in September 2020.
Details about the amount and his earlier offence were not disclosed in court documents.

The court heard that Assiddiq went to Read Bridge near Clarke Quay after 11pm on Dec 31 last year to meet three friends to welcome the New Year.
Shortly after midnight, Kotra and Low approached Assiddiq's group for an interview.
The DPP said: "The accused and his two friends were interviewed by (Kotra) for a period of less than five minutes.
"In the process, the accused failed to keep a distance of at least 1m from (Kotra) and Glaxy. During the interview, the accused's face mask was pulled under his chin."

The two teenagers recorded a video of the interview and the clip was uploaded onto YouTube on Jan 3.
Multiple men were earlier fined $1,500 each for breaching Covid-19 regulations in relation to the New Year's Eve gathering in Clarke Quay.
Two students who faced more than one charge each were fined $2,000 and $3,000 respectively on March 8.
In an earlier statement, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said 14 people had been hauled to court for the incident, while 19 people had been issued composition fines.
Videos posted online show a rowdy crowd cheering, singing and celebrating, in what the authorities called a blatant flouting of Covid-19 safe management rules and a potential super-spreader event.
Those convicted of breaching Covid-19 regulations can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed up to six months.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Nursing home staff who withdrew $1,000 with elderly resident's ATM card fined for theft, cheating​

Osmond Chia

June 13, 2022

SINGAPORE - A nursing home employee stole an ATM card belonging to an elderly resident she was assigned to look after and withdrew $1,000 in cash. She also used the card to buy food and toiletries at a supermarket.
Latha Narayanan, 59, was fined $4,000 on Monday (June 13) after she pleaded guilty earlier to theft and cheating. Two other similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that in 2019, Latha, who was a health assistant at Woodlands Care Home, was assigned to care for the victim, a 65-year-old man.
He died in January 2021, according to court documents.
The court heard that some time in 2019, the man forgot the PIN for his ATM card and Latha accompanied him to the bank to obtain a new code after a regular hospital visit.
The man received his new PIN in the presence of Latha and placed his ATM card in the pocket of his phone cover. He then handed the device to her for safekeeping.
On Nov 21, 2019, Latha used the card entrusted to her to withdraw $1,000 in cash, committing theft, said the prosecution.

She then used the card on Nov 25 to pay for $73 worth of food and toiletries at a supermarket in Woodlands, dishonestly inducing staff at the store to make the transaction.
The offences came to light when the elderly man reported to the police on Nov 27 that he lost his ATM card and that unauthorised withdrawals had been made from his bank account.
This was not Latha's first brush with the law. In 2017, she was fined $600 for property-related thefts, according to court documents.
Seeking a fine of $4,000, the prosecution said that the total amount involved in Latha's case was $1,870, noting that restitution was made in the form of a donation to the Singapore Cancer Society on Feb 9 this year.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy of IRB Law, who also sought a fine of $4,000, said Latha was committed to making restitution despite needing months to gather the funds.
He told the court in an earlier session that Latha had been a victim of bullying in her youth and endured abuse in her marriage. She was also abused by the victim whom she cared for at the nursing home, Mr Ashwin added.
The penalty for theft and cheating is a jail term of up to three years and a fine.

 

[mudhatter]

turd worlders from turd world sh*thoe

 

[jw5]

Nursing home staff who withdrew $1,000 with elderly resident's ATM card fined for theft, cheating​

Osmond Chia

June 13, 2022

SINGAPORE - A nursing home employee stole an ATM card belonging to an elderly resident she was assigned to look after and withdrew $1,000 in cash. She also used the card to buy food and toiletries at a supermarket.
Latha Narayanan, 59, was fined $4,000 on Monday (June 13) after she pleaded guilty earlier to theft and cheating. Two other similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that in 2019, Latha, who was a health assistant at Woodlands Care Home, was assigned to care for the victim, a 65-year-old man.
He died in January 2021, according to court documents.
The court heard that some time in 2019, the man forgot the PIN for his ATM card and Latha accompanied him to the bank to obtain a new code after a regular hospital visit.
The man received his new PIN in the presence of Latha and placed his ATM card in the pocket of his phone cover. He then handed the device to her for safekeeping.
On Nov 21, 2019, Latha used the card entrusted to her to withdraw $1,000 in cash, committing theft, said the prosecution.

She then used the card on Nov 25 to pay for $73 worth of food and toiletries at a supermarket in Woodlands, dishonestly inducing staff at the store to make the transaction.
The offences came to light when the elderly man reported to the police on Nov 27 that he lost his ATM card and that unauthorised withdrawals had been made from his bank account.
This was not Latha's first brush with the law. In 2017, she was fined $600 for property-related thefts, according to court documents.
Seeking a fine of $4,000, the prosecution said that the total amount involved in Latha's case was $1,870, noting that restitution was made in the form of a donation to the Singapore Cancer Society on Feb 9 this year.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy of IRB Law, who also sought a fine of $4,000, said Latha was committed to making restitution despite needing months to gather the funds.
He told the court in an earlier session that Latha had been a victim of bullying in her youth and endured abuse in her marriage. She was also abused by the victim whom she cared for at the nursing home, Mr Ashwin added.
The penalty for theft and cheating is a jail term of up to three years and a fine.

Scammers are the scum of the earth.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Jail for woman who used relative's photo on matchmaking site, cheated suitor of $4,750​

Maliha Ramu, 51, pretended to be a 25-year-old woman to cheat a 29-year-old man and his father of $5,750. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

Osmond Chia

PUBLISHED

June 14, 2022

SINGAPORE - A woman with a history of duping men into false promises of marriage to cheat them of their money was back to her antics, posting a photo on a matchmaking platform to ensnare more victims.
Using her relative's photo, Maliha Ramu fooled a 29-year-old Indian national living in Singapore into thinking she would marry him, and over the course of a year, cheated him and his father of $5,750.
Her suitor caught on to the ruse when he found photos on Facebook that looked like the 25-year-old woman Maliha, 51, claimed to be.
On Tuesday (June 14), she was jailed for seven months after pleading guilty to cheating.
The court heard that Maliha, who lives in Singapore and was self-employed at the time, had created the fake profile "Keerthana" on matchmaking platform Tamil Matrimony, where she described herself as a single woman.
Her profile included a contact number.
When her suitor's 62-year-old father contacted her in hopes of finding a partner for his son in November 2018, Maliha told him to call a landline to speak to her "mother".

It was part of her ploy to dupe the man into thinking she was genuinely looking for a partner.
Maliha actually lived alone and her mother died in 2002, Deputy Public Prosecutor Seah Ee Wei said.
When the older man called, Maliha pretended to be Keerthana's mother and during the conversation, gave her approval so his son could contact Keerthana.

The suitor, who was 29 at the time, then began speaking to Maliha over the phone. She told him that she worked as a counsellor at an army base in Australia.
When he requested that they chat over video calls, she said she was not allowed to use a camera phone because of where she purportedly worked.
Maliha sent him pictures, claiming they were of her. They were in fact photos of a younger relative who works in the army.
To win his confidence, she also sent the suitor gifts like headphones and medicine for his father.

Maliha, who was in Singapore the whole time, led him to believe that she would marry him upon her return from Australia in May 2019.
But she kept changing the return date over the next few months, claiming she had new duties overseas. At some point, she said she needed money to help her clients as a counsellor and asked him for help.
He agreed and transferred a total of $4,750 to her over four occasions between December 2018 and October 2019, believing the money was for buying medicine and cover expenses like funeral costs for her clients.
Maliha also cheated the man's father of $1,000, saying she needed money for her personal expenses. Instead, she used the money to pay off interest for a loan she took from a friend.
Maliha promised the suitor she would pay him back, and on Oct 4, 2019, transferred $2,000 from an ATM in Bukit Panjang Plaza to him.
This made him suspicious.

While digging around, he found a Facebook account belonging to Maliha's relative, and noticed a photo that was similar to the one "Keerthana" had sent him.
The DPP said: "The victim discovered this user was already married, and had posted that someone had impersonated her to cheat people."
He then tracked down Maliha's relative to a shop in Chua Chu Kang her family owns.
They confirmed that Keerthana was a fake profile and that the person in the photo was in fact Maliha's relative, said DPP Seah, who sought a jail term of eight to 10 months.
She noted that Maliha was in 2007 jailed for three years for cheating victims of $225,000 after similarly befriending them and promising to marrying them.
Those who cheat can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Furore in India over S'porean police officer accused of cheating 2 ex-wives; he refutes claims​

Mr A Mohamed Rafeek Abdul Kader is said to have taken thousands of dollars worth of dowries from the women's families. PHOTO: PUTHIYA THALAIMURAI

David Sun
Correspondent

June 16, 2022

SINGAPORE - About a dozen people marched through the streets of Thiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu in India last week holding up photos of a Singaporean police officer who they claimed had cheated two women in India.
Mr A. Mohamed Rafeek Abdul Kader, 39, an assistant superintendent with the Singapore Police Force, is said to have taken thousands of dollars worth of dowries from the women's families, then married and divorced the women without returning any of the cash and valuables.
He has denied this, saying the families of his ex-wives are just looking to tarnish his reputation and get more money from him.
The allegations have caused a furore in the South Indian state, where several media outlets have carried reports of interviews with family members of the officer's ex-wives.
Tamil news outlet Puthiya Thalaimurai reported that he married Ms Thaslema, an Indian national, in 2014, and received 150 pieces of jewellery and a watch worth 500,000 rupees (S$8,900) as part of the dowry.
The report alleges that he sent her back to India a few days after their marriage and filed for divorce without returning the dowry.
But when contacted by The Straits Times, Mr Rafeek refuted this.

He said they were married in Singapore in 2016, and divorced some time in 2017.
"The media reports are false, and even the dates are wrong," he said.
"After our divorce, (Ms Thaslema) took back the dowry and went back to India, where she is now happily married with a kid."

According to Puthiya Thalaimurai, Mr Rafeek married his second wife, Ms Ameer Nisha, also an Indian national, in 2020.
He reportedly received 101 pieces of jewellery, a Rolex watch, a platinum ring and $5,000 in cash.
The family of the second wife told Indian media that he again filed for divorce shortly after tying the knot, and did not return any of the dowry.
Mr Rafeek denied this as well. He said he filed for divorce in 2021 and it was finalised only earlier this year.

A photo of ASP A Mohamed Rafeek Abdul Kader getting married at Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam was circulated by Tamil news outlets. PHOTO: PUTHIYA THALAIMURAI
Both of his marriages were registered in Singapore, he said.
Mr Rafeek said he flew to India on May 28, and was in Thiruvarur to attend the wedding of a relative on June 4.
The families of his ex-wives found out he was in the country and told Indian media that he was back to marry and cheat a third woman.
On June 5, a day after his relative's wedding, about 100 people surrounded the building he was staying at, he told The Straits Times.
Armed with weapons including knives, they confronted Mr Rafeek and threatened him with violence unless he paid them 20 million rupees, which was to be split between the families of his ex-wives.
Mr Rafeek said he could not reason with them.
"They took the law into their own hands and threatened to kill me and toss me into the sea if I did not pay up," he said.
"But I was able to escape on a getaway motorcycle, even though they were chasing me with parangs."
He hastily returned to Singapore, where both he and Ms Ameer Nisha have since filed police reports against each other.
In response to queries from ST, a police spokesman said investigations are ongoing.
"Officers are expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity," said the spokesman.
"The officer is assisting with the investigations."

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Man gets jail, fine after threatening to kill women in separate incidents​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

June 20, 2022

SINGAPORE - A security officer asked a woman for her phone number and she gave it to him, thinking he had a right to demand the information.
Periyasamy Kannanthen sent her text messages asking for sex, and threatened to kill her after she ignored them.
In an unrelated incident, he also sent a man a text message threatening to kill another woman.
Last Friday (June 17), Periyasamy, now 53, was sentenced to three weeks' jail and a fine of $4,000 after he pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment.
He also admitted to causing annoyance to others when he was intoxicated.
State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Mohd Nasri Haron said that in the first incident, Periyasamy had met the woman, a 20-year-old waitress, while she was making a delivery for her workplace and asked for her mobile phone number.
She later received lewd text messages from him and told her boyfriend about them.

At around 8pm on Aug 21 last year, the boyfriend, 33, went to Periyasamy's workplace to confront him and a row erupted.
The SPO said: "The accused also took a metal stick and chased (the boyfriend) away.
"On the same day, at about 8.30pm, the accused made threatening communication to (the woman) by sending her a text which stated... 'I'm killing them and (you)'."


The boyfriend alerted the police that night.
The other incident occurred on Oct 15 last year. That day, Periyasamy reported for work as a security officer at a residential property at around 8.15pm.
Details about it have been redacted from court documents.

About 30 minutes later, an operations manager, 28, received complaints from several residents that Periyasamy appeared drunk and unstable. Court documents did not specify how the man is linked to Periyasamy.
The manager phoned Periyasamy about the matter but the older man became agitated and hung up.
At about 9pm, Periyasamy took out his uniform and burnt it on a grass patch outside the property.
He then sent a photo of the burning clothes to the manager and said he was praying for "bad omens" to go away.
The manager told him to calm down and go home, and Periyasamy left the premises minutes later.
He went to the void deck of a block of flats and started drinking beer.
At around 9.40pm, he sent the manager a text message, threatening to kill a woman, whose details were not revealed in court documents.
SPO Mohd Nasri said: "(The manager) was alarmed by those threatening words. He subsequently alerted his management and the concierge at the apartment (building) about the threat and advised them to call the police if they were confronted by the accused."
The police later clarified that no confrontation had taken place.
There was no immediate threat to life and property on the date of incident, the court heard.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Migrant worker jailed six months for stabbing roommate​

Wong Shiying

June 21, 2022

SINGAPORE - What began as a playful act of hitting each other escalated into a scuffle and resulted in a Bangladeshi national stabbing another with a kitchen knife.
The victim suffered lacerations in his small intestine as a result and had to be hospitalised for two weeks.
Hossen Md Midul was sentenced to six months' jail on Tuesday (June 21) after pleading guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to his roommate at CDPL Tuas Dormitory on Jan 13 this year.
The court heard that both men, aged 24, were working at the same company at the time.
At around 7.30pm on Jan 12, Hossen and the victim were playfully hitting each other.
This escalated into a scuffle and they had to be separated by five other roommates livingin the same dorm room.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kwang Jia Min said: "The accused felt angry at the victim over the scuffle and could not sleep on the night of Jan 12. He then formed the intention to cause hurt to the victim."


Past midnight on Jan 13, Hossen retrieved a kitchen knife while his roommates were sleeping.
He then used it to stab the victim on the left side of his abdomen and fled to the exercise corner in the dormitory.
The victim woke up to a sharp pain and found a knife lodged in his abdomen. He alerted the police who later arrested Hossen.
According to a medical report presented to the court, the knife had narrowly missed the victim's abdominal aorta, which is the main artery that supplies blood to the lower body.
If ruptured, it could have led to life-threatening internal bleeding.
The victim had to undergo surgery to have part of his small intestine removed and the remaining parts sewn back together. He was given 28 days' hospitalisation leave.
The maximum penalty for voluntarily causing hurt carries a seven-year jail term, a fine and caning.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Former childcare teacher jailed for stealing laptop, colleagues’ cash from 2 centres​

TODAY file photoAmethyst Theresa Pakianathan, 28, told the court that she has turned over a new leaf.

LOUISA TANG​

Published June 22, 2022

SINGAPORE — A 28-year-old woman was jailed for three weeks on Wednesday (June 22) after stealing items from two childcare centres where she worked.
Amethyst Theresa Pakianathan, who is now five months’ pregnant, was employed as a childcare teacher at Edufirst Learning Centre in Yishun when she stole a laptop there on May 16, 2018.
It was her first day of work, the court heard.
When the centre owner was notified about the missing Asus laptop, she checked closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and saw Amethyst leaving the centre that evening.
She had concealed the laptop behind a magazine. She then sold the device, which was valued at S$329, to a secondhand phone dealer in Yishun for S$130.

The laptop was later sold to another buyer for S$130, but the police recovered it during their investigations and returned it to the childcare centre’s owner.
Amethyst has since made restitution to the buyer.
State Prosecuting Officer Raj Kishore Rai told the court that Amethyst was given a conditional warning over this theft but re-offended about two years later on Feb 14, 2020.
Having found a new job at Raffles Kidz International in Yio Chu Kang, she then took S$20 from another colleague’s handbag that had been left unattended.
She spent the money on her personal needs.
More than a week later, she took S$100 in cash from a 52-year-old colleague’s handbag that had been left unattended in a classroom.

Court documents showed that she also filched beauty products, namely blusher and lipstick, from a third colleague.
In March, one of the staff members told the childcare centre’s manager that someone had stolen her personal items from a classroom.
The manager discovered what Amethyst had done after reviewing CCTV footage. She then broadcasted a message to her employees, asking for the perpetrator to own up to the theft.
Amethyst admitted to her offences the next day. The manager then called the police.
She has since made restitution to the colleagues from whom she stole.
The prosecution sought four weeks’ jail, noting that Amethyst pleaded guilty to three theft charges, with another three counts taken into consideration for sentencing.
In mitigation, Amethyst told Principal District Judge Toh Han Li that she was taking full responsibility for her actions and has gotten married since her last offence.
“I have decided to never do anything that puts me in this kind of position again.
“I just hope you’ll understand I have changed… At the time, it was a spur of the moment and I have kept my life clean for the past two years. I believe I will keep my life clean for the rest of my life," she added.
She also asked the judge if she could give birth before going to prison, but he urged her to promptly serve her jail sentence and not be separated from her child.
For each theft offence, she could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Woman with abusive boyfriend was choked in public, punched, threatened with knives​

Alex Green/PexelsPaartiban Maniam pleaded guilty to numerous charges of assaulting and threatening to kill his girlfriend.

• Paartiban Maniam was dating a colleague eight years older than him
• He assaulted and threatened to kill her on several occasions
• After they broke up, he smashed her mobile phone and choked her with his hand

LOUISA TAN​

Published June 22, 2022


SINGAPORE — Over two months this year, a factory operator terrorised his girlfriend by beating her, smashing her phone after swallowing a SIM card, tearing up her passport and choking her with his hand.
For what he did, Paartiban Maniam was on Wednesday (June 22) sentenced to seven months and three weeks’ jail.
This was backdated to March 12 when he was arrested and remanded.
The 30-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty to two charges each of criminal intimidation, committing mischief and causing hurt to his partner. He was intoxicated on all these occasions.
District Judge James Elisha Lee took into consideration six other similar charges for sentencing purposes.

The court heard that Paartiban dated his 38-year-old colleague for about two to three years. They lived together with her uncle in Singapore from December last year until Jan 23, when he first assaulted her.
She ended the relationship around early March.
Paartiban had gone out for drinks with his friends on Jan 23 before getting into a dispute with the victim over the phone.
When he got home, he accused her of being with another man and verbally abused her.
When her uncle took them down to the void deck of the housing block where he lived in order to settle matters, Paartiban slapped and punched his girlfriend. The older man had to tell him to stop.
Back at the uncle’s flat, Paartiban placed a kitchen knife close to his girlfriend’s neck, threatening to kill her. He later struck her head with a wooden kitchen towel holder.

Upset, she wrestled the holder from him and hit him with it, too. Her uncle eventually called the police.
Paartiban was arrested before being released on police bail.
About a month later, on Feb 28, Paartiban had moved out of the flat but returned.
When his girlfriend refused to let him in, he dislodged the metal gate at the main door by pulling it away from the wall forcefully. He then entered the flat, snatched her phone away and punched her face.
During their argument, he pointed a fruit knife at her chest and said in Tamil that he would “definitely kill” her. He later pointed a pair of scissors at her abdomen area, threatening once again to kill her.
She managed to calm him down and he put the scissors down before punching her shoulder.

Afraid of what he would do, she complied with his instructions to pack her belongings and leave with him. All this time, he continued to shout at her, punched her shoulder again, then tore up her Malaysian passport.
Upon getting to the ground floor of the block, she cooked up an excuse, walked away and asked a passer-by to call the police for her.
Paartiban was arrested and released on police bail once more.

SWALLOWED HER SIM CARD​

On March 11, he asked her to return his clothes to him.
He took her to a multi-storey car park and said that he wanted to kill her that very day.
She refused to get into a taxi that he had hailed, so he took her to a bench near 223 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh instead.
When she sat on the bench, he fished a metal bottle cap from his pocket, bit it to sharpen it, and placed it at her neck.
He then checked her phone, said that she had called other men the previous day, swallowed her SIM card and smashed the phone against the bench several times before pocketing it. He also swung a bottle of alcohol towards her head but missed.
He proceeded to drink the alcoholic beverage and smashed the bottle before placing it near her neck. He also said that he would kill her that same day before killing himself.
He then picked up some shards from the bottle and asked her to follow him.
As she was drinking some water, he put his arm around her neck and choked her with his hand. A police patrol car then passed them, prompting him to leave.
She then approached the police for assistance.
The prosecution sought seven to 10 months’ jail for Paartiban.
For criminal intimidation, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.
For voluntarily causing hurt, he could have been jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or both. And for committing mischief, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Woman with abusive boyfriend was choked in public, punched, threatened with knives​

Alex Green/PexelsPaartiban Maniam pleaded guilty to numerous charges of assaulting and threatening to kill his girlfriend.

• Paartiban Maniam was dating a colleague eight years older than him
• He assaulted and threatened to kill her on several occasions
• After they broke up, he smashed her mobile phone and choked her with his hand

LOUISA TANG​

Published June 22, 2022

SINGAPORE — Over two months this year, a factory operator terrorised his girlfriend by beating her, smashing her phone after swallowing a SIM card, tearing up her passport and choking her with his hand.
For what he did, Paartiban Maniam was on Wednesday (June 22) sentenced to seven months and three weeks’ jail.
This was backdated to March 12 when he was arrested and remanded.
The 30-year-old Malaysian pleaded guilty to two charges each of criminal intimidation, committing mischief and causing hurt to his partner. He was intoxicated on all these occasions.
District Judge James Elisha Lee took into consideration six other similar charges for sentencing purposes.

The court heard that Paartiban dated his 38-year-old colleague for about two to three years. They lived together with her uncle in Singapore from December last year until Jan 23, when he first assaulted her.
She ended the relationship around early March.
Paartiban had gone out for drinks with his friends on Jan 23 before getting into a dispute with the victim over the phone.
When he got home, he accused her of being with another man and verbally abused her.
When her uncle took them down to the void deck of the housing block where he lived in order to settle matters, Paartiban slapped and punched his girlfriend. The older man had to tell him to stop.
Back at the uncle’s flat, Paartiban placed a kitchen knife close to his girlfriend’s neck, threatening to kill her. He later struck her head with a wooden kitchen towel holder.

Upset, she wrestled the holder from him and hit him with it, too. Her uncle eventually called the police.
Paartiban was arrested before being released on police bail.
About a month later, on Feb 28, Paartiban had moved out of the flat but returned.
When his girlfriend refused to let him in, he dislodged the metal gate at the main door by pulling it away from the wall forcefully. He then entered the flat, snatched her phone away and punched her face.
During their argument, he pointed a fruit knife at her chest and said in Tamil that he would “definitely kill” her. He later pointed a pair of scissors at her abdomen area, threatening once again to kill her.
She managed to calm him down and he put the scissors down before punching her shoulder.

Afraid of what he would do, she complied with his instructions to pack her belongings and leave with him. All this time, he continued to shout at her, punched her shoulder again, then tore up her Malaysian passport.
Upon getting to the ground floor of the block, she cooked up an excuse, walked away and asked a passer-by to call the police for her.
Paartiban was arrested and released on police bail once more.

SWALLOWED HER SIM CARD​

On March 11, he asked her to return his clothes to him.
He took her to a multi-storey car park and said that he wanted to kill her that very day.
She refused to get into a taxi that he had hailed, so he took her to a bench near 223 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh instead.
When she sat on the bench, he fished a metal bottle cap from his pocket, bit it to sharpen it, and placed it at her neck.
He then checked her phone, said that she had called other men the previous day, swallowed her SIM card and smashed the phone against the bench several times before pocketing it. He also swung a bottle of alcohol towards her head but missed.
He proceeded to drink the alcoholic beverage and smashed the bottle before placing it near her neck. He also said that he would kill her that same day before killing himself.
He then picked up some shards from the bottle and asked her to follow him.
As she was drinking some water, he put his arm around her neck and choked her with his hand. A police patrol car then passed them, prompting him to leave.
She then approached the police for assistance.
The prosecution sought seven to 10 months’ jail for Paartiban.
For criminal intimidation, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.
For voluntarily causing hurt, he could have been jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$5,000, or both. And for committing mischief, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both.