First man convicted of rioting in Little India gets 30 months' jail, 3 strokes of the cane

By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 9 May 2014

THE first man who pleaded guilty to rioting during last December's unrest in Little India was sentenced to 21/2 years' jail and three strokes of the cane yesterday.

Ramalingam Sakthivel, an Indian national, was also given a jail term of two years and three months for causing mischief by fire.

Both sentences will run concurrently, but they were backdated to Dec 8 - the night of Singapore's first riot in more than 40 years and his arrest.

The 33-year-old had met friends in Little India earlier that day and later consumed a bottle of brandy, the court heard. He was walking towards Race Course Road with the intention of taking a chartered bus back to his dormitory when he saw the mob.

He then joined in and pelted police officers and vehicles with projectiles, and smashed the windscreen of a police vehicle with a wooden pole.

The construction worker also helped to flip a police car and attacked an ambulance with a pole while Home Team officers were taking cover in the Singapore Civil Defence Force vehicle.

Earlier, the court was shown video evidence of Ramalingam attempting to set a private bus at the scene on fire. The prosecution estimated that his actions caused damage amounting to more than $370,000.

Deputy Presiding Judge Jennifer Marie had harsh words for Ramalingam during sentencing.

"The accused was no meek follower - he rallied others to join him and pursued a course of conduct that showed him to be unfazed by the risk to his own life and limb," she said, adding that he had displayed "open hostility" against law enforcement officers. "The audacious acts of violence by the accused reflected his contempt for authority, and law and order."

She said that while she had taken into account mitigating factors raised by the defence, including Ramalingam's clean record in the five years he has worked here, his actions could not be considered in isolation.

"The point of a rioting charge of this nature is that the accused is held accountable for the acts of all involved," the judge said.

"Each individual who takes an active part by deed or encouragement is guilty of the collective offence of rioting."

Judge Marie added that a deterrent sentence was also necessary to send a general message to potential offenders that punishment "will not only be certain, but unrelenting".

His lawyer, Mr Justin Tan from Trident Law, said his client does not plan to appeal. "Our client is remorseful and is going to serve his term."

Six other men, mainly Indian nationals, have served sentences for other charges related to the riot. Some 18 others have cases against them pending in court.

Little India rioter gets 33 months' jail, caning
By Hoe Pei Shan, The Straits Times, 16 May 2014

CONSTRUCTION worker Arumugam Karthik was yesterday sentenced to 33 months in jail and three strokes of the cane for rioting and setting a police car on fire in Little India last December.

The 25-year-old Indian national is the second of 25 men charged over their roles in the riot to plead guilty to these two charges. The first, Indian worker Ramalingam Sakthivel, 33, was given 30 months' jail and three strokes last week.

Six others have been sentenced to 15 and 18 weeks' jail each for amended charges of failing to disperse that night.

Karthik's is the harshest sentence dealt so far in relation to the Dec 8 fracas. In arguing for a stiff sentence in the upper range of 30-36 months in prison and three to six strokes of the cane, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Yiwen said the accused's culpability was "markedly higher" than Sakthivel's.

The latter had flipped only one police vehicle and failed in attempts to blow up a bus by throwing burning objects into the fuel gas inlet, while Karthik admitted to flipping three police cars and successfully setting one of them on fire.

He also used concrete objects to smash a police vehicle's windscreens and hurled projectiles at a fire engine despite knowing Home Team first responders were inside.

A third charge taken into consideration during sentencing stated that Karthik had participated in pelting and smashing the private bus involved in the fatal accident that had sparked the riot.

Pleading for leniency, his lawyer V. Ramesh told the court that Karthik had had a clean record since starting work in Singapore in 2009, and supported his family in India, where his father is receiving medical treatment.

The accused had been upset by news of the fatal bus accident, and "allowed the mob mentality to override his rational thinking process".

Addressing the court directly, Karthik added that he "deeply regretted" his behaviour and wanted to "apologise to the Singapore Police Force".

Watching from the court gallery was his brother, Mr Arumugam Muruganandam, 28, also a construction worker here.

"This is not the nature of my brother, it was the alcohol," he told The Straits Times later. Court documents showed his brother consumed a 500ml bottle of whisky with a friend before the chaos unfolded.

He said the family accepts the sentence and the two brothers "just want to go home". Cases against the remaining 17 charged are pending in court.