SINGAPORE: A man who was tasered by police at Everton Park in a stand-off that went viral was on Tuesday (Aug 6) sentenced to three years and seven months' jail, as well as 15 strokes of the cane for a variety of offences ranging from robbery to punching a policeman.
Indian national Murugesan Ragupathiraja, 25, assaulted and slapped two police officers on one occasion. While out on bail, he robbed a fellow construction worker by throwing chilli powder in his face.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen released on bail again, he kicked benches and dustbins while drunk, and was tasered twice by police before being subdued.
Murugesan pleaded guilty to six charges of robbery with common intention, using criminal force on a public servant, assaulting a public servant, hurting a public servant, vandalism and mischief.
Another five charges were taken into consideration.
FIRST BRUSH WITH LAW STARTED AFTER DRINKS AT TEKKA
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe construction worker's troubles with the law began on Dec 11 last year, after drinking with a friend at Tekka Market.
While walking along a corridor outside Park 22 Hotel in Little India, Murugesan pulled three wooden window panels from the wall, cracking one and dislodging the other two.
The hotel's housekeeping manager ran to two auxiliary police officers who were patrolling the area, asking for help.
When approached by the officers, Murugesan denied damaging the wooden panels and refused to give his particulars. They took him back to the hotel where they were approached by a friend Murugesan had been drinking with, and a scuffle suddenly broke out.
Murugesan punched Lance Corporal Srisivasangkar Subramaniam's face three times in a row and tried to run away.
The other officer, Police Constable Chong Sheng Liang, tried to help his colleague restrain Murugesan but was slapped in his face three times.
The officers eventually managed to handcuff Murugesan.
However, he began shouting at passers-by, and when more police officers went to the scene, Murugesan spat at them.
Even when he was placed in the police van, Murugesan continued kicking and spitting repeatedly at the officers near him and cursing at them.
He also tried to bite the arm of an officer, and the police eventually resorted to placing a face mask on him to stop him from spitting at the police.
USING CHILLI POWDER IN ROBBERY
Murugesan was released on bail and continued his spate of crimes in April this year, when he committed robbery with another man, 25-year-old Indian national Raman Lakshmanan.
At about 9pm on Apr 7, the two men went to Kovan MRT station intending to rob another construction worker, 39-year-old Bangladeshi national Ullah Hedayat.
They believed that Mr Ullah was running an illegal remittance business and had large amounts of cash on him.
Murugesan took with him a plastic bag containing red chilli powder, and waited for the victim at the car park near the MRT station.
When the victim appeared, Murugesan grabbed him from behind and threw the powder at his face, rubbing it on his eyes.
His accomplice Raman then grabbed the victim's sling bag from him.
The pair fled the scene with the bag, which contained S$160 in cash, name cards, a notebook with a series of remittance transactions and an ATM card.
The victim sought help from a passer-by, who called the police.
Raman fled Singapore a few days later and is still at large, but Murugesan was arrested.
While on bail for these offences, Murugesan got into another scuffle with police officers. This time, it was caught on camera.
KICKED DUSTBINS, BENCHES WHILE DRINKING
On the morning of Jun 9, Murugesan had alcohol and walked around topless in Chinatown and Everton Park, with his shirt slung over his shoulder and a can of beer in his hand.
At about 4.45pm, he came to Duxton Plain Park and kicked a dustbin on the pavement, spilling the contents of the bin. He also kicked a wooden bench, uprooting it.
When police officers arrived at the scene, Murugesan would not cooperate and began behaving aggressively.
He gestured at his chest and shouted "shoot me" repeatedly at the officers, the court heard.
When other police officers arrived, Murugesan suddenly charged at one of them with a raised fist and tried to punch the officer, who moved backwards and pulled out his baton.
Another officer deployed his taser at Murugesan to stop him from punching his colleague.
Despite being tasered, Murugesan continued to move towards his target, the court heard. He was hit on his thigh with a baton and tasered a second time before falling to the ground.
The prosecution had asked for at least three years and nine months' jail and 15 strokes of the cane, pointing out that Murugesan had committed some offences while out on bail and has not made any restitution for the damage to property.
His actions over the damaged wooden hotel panels "clearly demonstrated contempt" for the police, and his violent behaviour drew a large crowd, said the prosecutor.
CHANGES MITIGATION AT LAST MINUTE, SAYS HIS BROTHER IS IRRESPONSIBLE
Murugesan, who was unrepresented, initially tendered to the court a written mitigation plea. However, he told the court on Tuesday that he had asked a Malaysian inmate to write it for him and did not know what it said.
When the court interpreter read it for him in Tamil, he said he would not rely on it but make his own oral mitigation.
He then told the court that he came to Singapore in July last year as a construction worker and earned about S$600 a month, which he used to support his elderly parents in India.
"My father is a farmer and my mother is a housewife. They were totally reliant on me, sir, for their basic necessities," said Murugesan through the Tamil interpreter. "I have an elder brother who is very irresponsible and does not contribute anything towards the family’s upkeep."
"Your honour, I pleaded guilty today to express my remorse," he continued. "I realise that by committing these offences, I have not only jeopardised my future but have also robbed my family of a comfortable life. I sincerely apologise, your honour, to the court and all the victims for what I have done. I humbly urge your honour to take my guilty plea into consideration and impose the minimum sentences for all the charges."
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt calibrated the sentence slightly lower than what the prosecution asked for and backdated the sentence to his date of remand in June this year.
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