K
Keiji Maeda
Guest
Oct 4, 2010
Jail, caning for fatal robbery
By Khushwant Singh
TWO men, who were convicted of murder two years ago, were sentenced to 15 years in jail and 15 strokes of the cane on Monday for robbery with hurt. Daniel Vijay Katherasan and Christopher Samson Anpalagan, both 27, are appealing against the sentence. They escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal ruled last month that the pair did not know that a third accomplice, Nakamuthu Balakrishnan, 51, would cause Mr Wan's death.
They had ambushed a lorry loaded with 2,700 cell phones in May 2006, with the intention of robbing its cargo worth $1.3 million. During the robbery along Changi Coast Road, Nakamuthu bashed the lorry driver, Mr Wan Cheon Kem, with a baseball bat. Mr Wan, 46, who took at least 15 blows to his head and body, died six days later in hospital.
Asking Justice Tay Yong Kwang for a jail term of not less than the 16 1/2 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane to be handed down to Arsan Krishnasamy Govindarajoo, 40, one of two men who hatched the plan, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amarjit Singh said that Daniel Vijay and Christopher Samson did not bother to seek medical attention for the badly hurt Mr Wan, who might not died if they had done so.
