Ah nehs...

[bisdak]

Minister of Science Technology & Innovation : Vanmitha Is Going To be An Astronaut

Here is a fantastic story. There is something called the Career Astronaut Competition run by some (American?) outfit called AdvancingX. Sounds like an Elon Musk outfit.
It is a competition that is spread over FIVE years and over a few stages to select career astronauts to participate in space programs. You can read more about it here .
Here is a gist :




The Career Astronaut competition offers STEM and art focused individuals from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to experience space training, potential space travel and opportunities for space related careers.
Identifying Career Astronauts is a 5-year competitive process designed as a part-time program that can easily fit within most work or school schedules.
Candidates get the opportunity to take part in the largest optimal team design research and training to ever take place anywhere in the world.
Some of these challenges will take Career Astronaut Candidates into extinct lava tunnels, to remote research labs, and deep underwater.
Candidates will learn team skills, survival strategies, and astronaut training techniques that will prepare them for space flight.
As candidates move forward through the competition they will be faced with several carefully designed challenges to help identify and measure team cognitive functional characteristics capable of taking on extreme environment circumstances like those found in space.
Challenges include social engagements, survival, and simulated zero gravity tasks designed to prepare Career Astronauts for not only missions in suborbital space, on the moon, or beyond but to also work together as a team.
In addition to the knowledge, skills and abilities obtained from the Career Astronaut competition, one team of four will be selected for a trip to suborbital space!
Well what do you know - there is a Malaysian candidate who is a participant in this Career Astronaut Competition and "she" has already passed Stage 1 and is now headed for Stage 2. Her name is Vanmitha Athimoolam.
Vanmitha was born in Ipoh in 2000 and raised in Klang. She attended SJK (T) Simpang Lima and later scored 10As in her SPM in 2017. Post-SPM she attended Kelantan Matriculation College. She is now a second year student at USM Penang doing a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering
Here is a short video of Vanmitha Athimoolam :





You can see that Vanmitha is determined to her give her best space shot for her space career.
This is really interesting news. The world has not only shrunk but it is fully connected. Vanmitha is going to space through the Internet.
I would like to wish Vanmitha Athimoolam success in Stage 2 and that she gets selected as a Career Astronaut.
We are all fully behind you Vanmitha. Do us proud. Syabas.

 

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SAF regular gets 10 months’ jail over sex act with underage girl​

Subramaniam Thaburan Rangasamy was suspended from all duties following his arrest, according to the Ministry of Defence. PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

FEB 01, 2024

SINGAPORE – A Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular was sentenced to 10 months’ jail on Feb 1 over a sex act with a 15-year-old girl.
Subramaniam Thaburan Rangasamy, 50, a first warrant officer, pleaded guilty in January to one count of sexually penetrating a minor below 16. Two other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The girl, who is now 17, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.
Subramaniam was suspended from all duties following his arrest, according to the Ministry of Defence.
A Mindef spokeswoman also told The Straits Times earlier that SAF will take further actions after court hearings, which may include discharging him from service.
The incident happened on Dec 6, 2021, during the school holidays.
Subramaniam and the Secondary 3 student first met at a multi-storey carpark. They did not know each other.

She was supposed to have an online meeting with her school counsellor at 11am that day and went to the carpark for some privacy as there were other people at home.
Subramaniam was about to leave for work on his motorcycle.
When she fell and hit a door, Subramaniam helped her.
Grateful for his help, she went home and returned with a can of chrysanthemum tea for him, and they chatted at the fourth-floor staircase of the carpark.
About an hour later, Subramaniam and the girl became intimate. The girl then performed a sex act on him.
Subramaniam also tried to perform a sexual act on her, but failed.
They parted ways after exchanging numbers and remained in contact via WhatsApp, but the messages were not of a sexual nature.
On Dec 8, 2021, the girl made a police report because she felt that Subramaniam had taken advantage of her.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair had told the court in earlier proceedings: “The accused was not at any time misled as to the victim’s age. The accused did not force or coerce the victim to be intimate.”
For penetrating a minor below 16, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

 

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Jail for company director who was unaware his firm received over $78m from Wirecard​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

FEB 07, 2024

SINGAPORE – In exchange for $500 a month, a man agreed to be the sole director of a firm called Strategic Corporate Investments without getting involved with its dealings.
The police said on Feb 7 that despite heading Strategic, Thilagaratnam Rajaratnam did not know the company had received more than €54 million (S$78 million) in its bank account from Wirecard AG between December 2014 and September 2015.
The monies were later transferred to various other parties, the police added.
The Straits Times had earlier reported that Wirecard AG, a German payment processing company, had filed for insolvency in Germany in June 2020 after admitting €1.9 billion in cash was missing from its accounts.
The company’s former chief executive Markus Braun and several other top executives were then arrested on fraud charges.
Thilagaratnam, a 60-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail on Feb 7 after he failed to exercise diligence in his duties as Strategic’s director.
At the time of the offence, his brother, R. Shanmugaratnam, 58, was a director at Citadelle Corporate Services, a firm providing corporate secretarial services. Its clients included companies owned by Briton James Henry O’Sullivan, 49.

Both Shanmugaratnam and O’Sullivan were allegedly involved in the Wirecard case here. Their cases are pending.
For the current case, Deputy Public Prosecutor Vincent Ong said Shanmugaratnam asked Thilagaratnam to be Strategic’s nominee director some time in or around early 2014.
According to court documents, Thilagaratnam was told he would not be involved in the company’s management and would not have any responsibilities.

He was also told he would only need to sign documents for the company, and take instructions from O’Sullivan’s team whenever needed, said the DPP.
Thilagaratnam agreed to be Strategic’s sole director for $500 a month. He thought the company was doing e-commerce but did not know, and did not try to find out, details about its activities.
Strategic was incorporated on March 17, 2014.
Between December 2014 and September 2015, Strategic received more than €54 million from Wirecard AG.

DPP Ong said the monies were later transferred to various parties, adding: “These transactions purportedly related to Wirecard AG’s planned acquisitions of companies in Brazil and Panama.
“Strategic was purportedly appointed as an escrow agent to hold the incoming transfers, pending further instructions from (parties including) Wirecard AG... Strategic did not have these sums in its bank accounts after the outgoing transfers.”
Thilagaratnam was unaware of such transactions.
The prosecution told the court that between March 29, 2016, and April 7, 2018, Shanmugaratnam prepared seven letters from Strategic addressed to Wirecard AG and handed them to Thilagaratnam.
Thilagaratnam signed the seven letters, confirming that Strategic purportedly held up to €54 million in escrow in its bank account for Wirecard AG.
He did so without ensuring that the contents of the letters were true.
DPP Ong said the contents of the letters turned out to be false, as Strategic did not have the monies in its account during the period mentioned in the letters.
The court heard that Shanmugaratnam later sent the letters to parties including Wirecard AG’s auditors in Germany.
In June 2020, Wirecard AG filed for insolvency in Germany.
Thilagaratnam was represented by lawyers Adrian Wee, Lynette Chang and Matthew Low from Lighthouse Law.
The lawyers stated in court documents that he was negligent and pleaded for him to be given a fine of $5,000.
Thilagaratnam’s bail was set at $30,000, and he is expected to surrender himself at the State Courts on Feb 29 to begin serving his sentence.
ST previously reported that Wirecard Singapore had been providing payment processing services to about 1,900 companies here before the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) ordered it to stop on Sept 30, 2020.
MAS also directed the firm to return all of its customers’ funds within two weeks.

 

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Jail for repeat offender who kicked cops, declared he was a secret society member​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

FEB 16, 2024

SINGAPORE – A recalcitrant offender is back behind bars after he kicked two police officers in a drunken rage and told one of them after his arrest that he was a secret society member.
Narayanan Pillai Sandarasegaran, 50, was sentenced to seven months and four weeks’ jail on Feb 16 after he pleaded guilty to two counts of using criminal force on public servants.
He also pleaded guilty to one count each of harassment and an offence under the Societies Act.
Pillai, a member of a gang from 1989, was its assistant headman between February 2014 and November 2019.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ashley Poh told the court that Pillai had been in and out of jail between 1996 and 2022 for a range of offences, including an earlier instance of using criminal force on a public servant.
In the current case, the court heard that Pillai became drunk after drinking two cans of beer at around 8pm on Nov 3, 2023, and took an umbrella from a minimart in Serangoon.
The minimart’s cashier alerted the police, stating that Pillai wanted to “beat people”.

When police officers arrived, one of them asked Pillai for his next of kin’s particulars so they could take him home. Instead of complying, he kicked the policeman, who managed to block the blow with his hand.
Pillai kicked a second policeman’s leg thrice when he was sitting in a police car. DPP Poh said that Pillai also verbally abused the officer with vulgarities.
His tirade continued until he was taken to the lock-up premises of Woodlands Division Headquarters, where he told one of the policemen that he was a secret society member.
He was released on bail the following day, only to reoffend six days later when he stole items, including multiple pieces of clothing worth nearly $126 in total, from a shop in Boon Lay.
He was arrested again and has been in remand since Nov 11, 2023.

 

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Ex-prison officer who tried to obtain $133k in bribes from inmate gets more than 3 years’ jail​

Former senior chief warder Kobi Krishna Ayavoo first asked for money in September 2015, stating that he could help the inmate. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

FEB 23, 2024

SINGAPORE - A now retired prison officer who tried but failed to obtain bribes totalling $133,000 from an inmate was sentenced to three years and two weeks’ jail on Feb 23.
In November 2023, District Judge John Ng had after a trial convicted former senior chief warder Kobi Krishna Ayavoo, 57, of eight charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The judge also found him guilty of two charges under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, as Kobi had instigated two of his then colleagues to gain unauthorised access to their workplace computer platform – the Prisons Operations and Rehabilitation System (Ports) – in July 2017.
Ports contains confidential information such as inmates’ identification card numbers.
Kobi, who was suspended from work from July 2017, retired in December 2022.
In the graft-related offences, Kobi had attempted to obtain money from Chong Keng Chye, then 48, who was behind bars at the time for one of the worst child abuse cases in Singapore.
He had battered his girlfriend’s seven-year-old son for more than seven months until the child died in 1999. He had also abused the boy’s two sisters.

In 2005, Chong was sentenced to 20 years of preventive detention, with nine strokes of the cane.
In preventive detention, a repeat offender aged over 30 receives a substantial period of imprisonment to protect the public. The detention order can last up to 20 years.
In her submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Magdalene Huang said that Kobi had tried to obtain the bribes from Chong over eight separate occasions between September 2015 and March 2016, in exchange for facilitating the inmate’s request to transfer out of an area named Cluster A1 in Changi Prison.

On each occasion, Kobi tried to obtain between $3,000 and $42,000 from Chong, who did not hand him any money.
Among other things, Kobi asked for $42,000 in September 2015 to renovate his home, and requested $25,000 for “urgent use” in March 2016.
The DPP said in her submissions that Chong had earlier told Kobi that he wished to have a change in environment while behind bars, to stay with three others and to work.
She added that Kobi first asked Chong for money in September 2015, stating that he could help the inmate.
During the trial, Chong testified that he knew Kobi did not have the capability or the authority to help him transfer out of A1.
According to court documents, Chong told the court that the matter needed to go through the prison’s “Intelligence”.
Chong testified that Kobi then told him that one of the intelligence officers was his friend, who could help the inmate.
Between January and March 2016, Chong went through a medical review, but was not transferred out even though he was found to be fit.

Chong testified that when he asked Kobi about the matter, the latter replied: “The things I ask you to do, you did not do it for me.”
On July 14, 2016, Chong was finally transferred to an area described as “A3” in court documents. However, the reasons for the transfer were not stated in his records. Court documents did not disclose the differences between A1 and A3.
DPP Huang told the court that Chong was a credible witness, stressing that he had recorded the eight occasions on which Kobi attempted to obtain bribes from him.
Chong had also noted down the mobile phone and bank account numbers that Kobi had provided.
The prosecutor said: “There was no way (Chong) could have known about the accused’s financial problems or obtained the mobile phone and bank account numbers unless the accused had told him; and there was no other reason for the accused to have given him the information except that he wanted bribes.”
Chong later reported Kobi to the Singapore Prison Service, having felt that he had more to lose than gain by doing so.
DPP Huang said that in prison, there is a stigma attached to being labelled a “snitch” or tattle-tale, adding that Chong indeed suffered repercussions for making the report.
Chong had earlier said: “Many friends have distanced themselves from me… Even for my own gang, they have ignored me.”
Kobi, who was represented by lawyer Skandarajah Selvarajah, denied asking Chong for money on any of the eight occasions. He had claimed that he did not speak to Chong about his financial matters, and alleged that Chong had lied in order to be transferred out of A1.
As for Kobi’s offences under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, the DPP said that on July 24, 2017, he instigated two of his then colleagues – Mr Firoz Khan Shaik Fazaluddin and Mr Mohamed Sarraj Shadul Hameed – to gain unauthorised access to Ports.
He had asked Mr Khan for Chong’s inmate number and requested unspecified information from Mr Sarraj.

In March 2018, Mr Khan, then a staff sergeant attached to Changi Prison’s Estate Management Office, was fined $4,000 after he accessed Ports for Kobi.
During the trial, Mr Sarraj testified that he had turned down Kobi’s request and alerted his superior.
On Feb 23, Mr Skandarajah told the court that his client may be filing an appeal but did not state if it will be against his conviction, sentence or both. Kobi’s bail has been set at $15,000.

 

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MOH investigating clinic for issuing MCs for $5.99 without video or audio consultation​

Preliminary findings show that Medstar Medical Clinic and Surgery has been issuing MCs to patients after they complete a text-based questionnaire. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM GOOGLE MAPS

Sarah Koh

FEB 28, 2024

SINGAPORE – Medstar Medical Clinic and Surgery is under investigation by the Ministry of Health (MOH) for allegedly issuing medical certificates (MCs) without any audio or video consultation on the clinic’s website.
In a statement on Feb 23, MOH said it received information earlier in the month that the clinic’s telemedicine service, PocketCare, had been advertising on Instagram and its website that patients could receive an MC in five minutes for $5.99, with no video consultation required.
The ministry’s preliminary findings show that the clinic, which is located in Jalan Besar, has been issuing MCs to patients after they complete a text-based questionnaire.
MOH has referred the clinic’s registered medical practitioner, Dr Viknesh Shanmugam, to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) for investigations for possibly breaching the SMC Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines.
Due to the lack of real-time, two-way interaction with a doctor during the consultation, patients could potentially give false or inaccurate responses without verification by the doctor, and obtain an MC without appropriate clinical assessment, said MOH.
It added: “Patients who require a proper consultation may also not obtain the appropriate clinical assessment to manage their medical conditions.”
Medstar is currently licensed to provide outpatient medical services.

The consultation services provided by the clinic through PocketCare without using audiovisual communications may be a violation of Regulation 30 under the Heathcare Services (Outpatient Medical Service) Regulations 2023, said MOH.
The regulation states that a licensee may only provide outpatient medical services remotely to first-time patients in real time and through two-way interactive audiovisual communications.
PocketCare had also featured claims on its website that patients could “Get Your MC or Get a Refund”, said MOH, adding that investigations are ongoing to establish if this statement contravenes the Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations 2021.
A check by The Straits Times on Feb 23 found that the home page of PocketCare has been replaced by a maintenance page.
The clinic has been issued a notice of the Director-General of Health’s intention to take regulatory action against the clinic’s consultation services, said the ministry.
This includes a possible three-month suspension of the clinic’s remote services and the need to modify its consultation services to be compliant with regulations before it can resume such services.

 

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Negligent bus driver who caused accident that led to passenger losing her legs gets 3 weeks’ jail​

Gunaselan R. Subramaniam, 45, was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for two years from his date of release. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

MAR 15, 2024

SINGAPORE – A Singapore-Johor Express bus ran over a passenger’s legs after she fell while alighting, resulting in both her limbs having to be amputated above the knee.
Gunaselan R. Subramaniam, 45, who was driving the vehicle at the time, was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on March 15.
The Malaysian was disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for two years from his date of release.
He was also prohibited from driving any vehicles in Singapore for two years from his release date.
He had been convicted on March 8 of causing grievous hurt to Ms Tuminah Sapie, who was 74 at the time, by driving the bus in a negligent manner.
On June 24, 2019, Gunaselan had stopped the vehicle at a Woodlands Checkpoint departure concourse at around 10.45am for passengers to get off.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan told the court that Gunaselan had failed to conduct checks before driving off as he was talking on his mobile phone.

Another passenger that day testified in court that she had heard him talking on the device while passengers were stepping out of the vehicle.
Ms Tuminah, who was the last passenger exiting the bus, told District Judge Cheng Yuxi that she was standing on the steps near the rear exit of the vehicle when she felt it moving.
She had testified that she could not control her body when the bus moved suddenly, and fell out of the vehicle.

“When she was on the ground, she felt her legs being run over by the bus,” said DPP Tan.
She was rushed to hospital. Ms Tuminah’s right lower limb was mangled and she also had multiple fractures.
She had “degloving” injuries in her groin area and left lower limb too. The term refers to when top layers of skin and tissue are ripped from the underlying muscle or bone.
The injuries which resulted in the amputation of her legs above the knees constitute grievous hurt, said the DPP.

Gunaselan admitted in earlier proceedings that he had felt his bus “going up a hump” after he closed the doors and drove off a short distance.
The prosecutor said: “The accused fell short of the requisite standard of care as he failed to conduct the necessary checks before driving off.”
Represented by lawyer A. Revi Shanker, Gunaselan argued during the trial that he had not acted in a negligent manner.
Gunaselan also said that he had made checks, including looking at the vehicle’s left mirror before driving off, but did not see her.
For causing grievous hurt to another person by performing a negligent act, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

 

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Jail, caning for man who stabbed stranger with harpoon in fight outside bar​

The harpoon had a 6cm-long blade. PHOTO: COURT DOCUMENTS
Andrew Wong

MAR 15, 2024

SINGAPORE – Before heading to a bar for drinks in Cuscaden Road, a man told his friend to bring a weapon as fights occasionally broke out at the watering hole. By the end of that night in June 2022, the same man had planted a harpoon into a stranger’s back after an argument broke out between them.
On March 15, Sheran Raj Balasubramaniam, 24, was sentenced to three years and seven months’ jail, and ordered to receive 10 strokes of the cane.
He had pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon, and another charge over a separate incident where he carried an offensive weapon in a public place.
During sentencing, District Judge Paul Chan noted that this was not Sheran Raj’s first brush with the law, pointing out previous violent offences and a stint in the Reformative Training Centre. He did not elaborate on his previous offences.
“He has had a warning about not committing such offences before, but he has not heeded those warnings,” Judge Chan said.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Ashvin Hariharan of IRB Law said Sheran Raj was only 22 years old when the incident took place.
But the judge said while youth can be a mitigating factor as young people often commit offences out of folly or lack of life experiences, this cannot be applied to Sheran Raj as he is a repeat offender.

Judge Chan went on to say that a stronger deterrence is needed as Sheran Raj seems to have “no qualms” about committing violent crimes. “He must now face the full measure of the law as an adult,” the judge added.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng said on June 3, 2022, Sheran Raj had asked his friend S. Mageshwaran to go with him to Candy Bar at Ming Arcade shopping centre in Cuscaden Road. Before entering the bar, Mageshwaran, 29, passed a harpoon with a 6cm-long blade to him.

In June 2023, Mageshwaran was sentenced to 17 months, 19 weeks and three days’ jail, and ordered to be given 12 strokes of the cane.

He had pleaded guilty to several offences, including harassment and being in possession of the harpoon.
DPP Heng said the pair reached Candy Bar at 12.30am on June 4, 2022, and began ordering “copious amounts of alcohol”. They finished two bottles of Chivas Regal whisky that day. Around 4.20am, Sheran Raj noticed a man arguing with a woman inside the bar and decided to intervene between the pair who turned out to be siblings.
After Sheran Raj slapped the man on his head, the man challenged Sheran Raj to a fight. Both men then left the bar.
Outside Candy Bar, the man’s friends tried to separate them. Sheran Raj took out the harpoon from his pocket and lunged twice at the man with it. He missed both times.
In the ensuing chaos, Sheran Raj managed to stab the man in his lower back. He realised the knife was stuck in the man’s back when he tried to retrieve it.
He quickly booked a taxi and left the area, while the man was later taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with the harpoon still in his back.
He was discharged on June 6, 2022, and re-admitted three days later after complaining of pain and numbness. Sheran Raj was later identified and arrested. He was released on bail on June 13, 2022.
On Oct 20, 2023, while he was out on bail, an intoxicated Sheran Raj got into a heated argument with his mother for not giving him pocket money, and left home with a kitchen chopper.

Sheran Raj tossed the chopper into a dustbin when he spotted a police car after alighting from his Grab ride. PHOTO: COURT DOCUMENTS
Fearing what he would do, his younger sister made a police report.
On his way home the next day, he spotted a police car and quickly tossed the chopper into a dustbin after alighting from his Grab ride. He was eventually caught and arrested.

 

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Jail, fine for businessman linked to ruse enabling a bus to travel above speed limit​

Sundram Retnam was fined $500 after he failed to ensure the speed limiter was properly calibrated to prevent the vehicle from speeding. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

MAR 30, 2024

SINGAPORE – The owner of a company that provides bus transportation services was sentenced to 13 weeks’ jail over his role in a ruse that allowed one of his vehicles to go over the prescribed speed limit of 60kmh, potentially affecting road safety.
Sundram Retnam, 51, who owns SV Bus Transportation Services and usually drove the affected bus at speeds of between 70kmh and 75kmh, was also fined $500 after he failed to ensure its speed limiter was properly calibrated to prevent the vehicle from speeding.
On March 25, he pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating and also admitted to an offence under the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Speed Limiters) Rules.
Sundram was the second person involved in the case to be dealt with in court.
Mechanic Tee Wei Chye, 45, who had activated the speed limiter on the bus before its inspections and disabled it after the tests were completed, was sentenced to 21 weeks’ jail on March 22 after he pleaded guilty to three cheating charges.
The case involving a third man, Teoh Sio Meng, 51, who was the director and owner of T&L Transit, and a director at RS3 Transport at the time of the offences, is pending.
All three Singaporean men were charged in court in December 2022.

The prosecution said that it is mandatory for speed limiters to be installed in vehicles such as Sundram’s bus to prevent them from going beyond 60kmh.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Eric Hu and Darren Sim added: “The speed limiter regime aims to improve road safety and driving behaviour, and complements other measures intended to reduce fatalities and injuries among road users.”
In earlier proceedings, the DPPs told the court that, in 2015, Tee started working for Leng Chong Engineering and assisted in the operations of Leng Chong Motor.

These firms provided vehicle inspection services, but he had acted in his own capacity when he committed the offences.
The prosecution added that Teoh introduced Sundram to Tee some time before June 2017.
According to court documents, Teoh told Sundram that Tee was able to ensure that his vehicles passed inspections, even if they were not compliant with the Land Transport Authority’s requirements.

Sundram later engaged Tee’s services to ensure his 39-seater bus would pass a police speed limiter test.
The prosecution said the three men engaged in a conspiracy to dupe vehicle inspection company Vicom into believing that a working speed limiter was installed on the bus and would be left on the vehicle to comply with the law.
Tee temporarily enabled the speed limiter on the bus before handing the vehicle over to a Vicom vehicle inspector on June 28, 2017.
The unsuspecting inspector found the speed limiter was working and the bus passed the police speed limiter test. The result was then transmitted to the Traffic Police.
Tee disabled the speed limiter afterwards and returned the vehicle to Sundram.
Tee committed a similar offence involving the same bus, which was handed over to the same Vicom inspector on Jan 13, 2018.
An unnamed whistle-blower alerted the authorities, and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau then looked into the matter.
On March 25, Sundram’s bail was set at $5,000. He is expected to surrender himself at the State Courts on April 1 to begin serving his sentence.

 

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Forklift stacker operator whose negligence caused surveyor to be crushed to death gets jail​

Mr Arumugam Ganesan had driven a stacker while concurrently lowering a container at a depot in Pioneer Crescent on Oct 1, 2021. PHOTO: STOMP

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

APR 05, 2024

SINGAPORE – A certified forklift stacker operator failed to ensure that he had a clear view while transporting a shipping container, which resulted in a quality control surveyor getting crushed to death on Oct 1, 2021.
In earlier proceedings, the court heard that the container, which weighed more than two tonnes, had been lowered onto Mr Teo Ser Kiong, 49. It was 6.06m long, 2.44m wide and 2.59m high.
Malaysian Arumugam Ganesan, 45, who admitted he had been negligent on the day of the tragedy, was sentenced to 138 days’ jail on April 4 after he pleaded guilty to an offence under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Ministry of Manpower prosecutor Delvinder Singh said that at the time of the offence, Arumugam and Mr Teo were working for a firm called Allied Container (Engineers & Manufacturers).
Mr Singh added: “The accused had assumed that there was (no other person and no container) in his path when he operated the forklift stacker, resulting in his view being blocked, and the eventual fatality.”
At around 5pm on Sept 30, 2021, Mr Teo gave Arumugam a list of available and damaged containers that were scheduled for export.
Arumugam was tasked to move these containers to their designated locations before they were to be exported the next day.

The two men later reported for work at a depot in Pioneer Crescent on Oct 1, 2021.
In his findings dated May 19, 2023, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said that according to evidence, Mr Teo did not inform a depot manager he was entering the working area where the containers were located.
Allied Container’s traffic management plan required staff to notify the depot manager before going into such an area.


The depot manager would then alert stacker operators, so that the operators could either avoid the area or stop work in the relevant area that the staff would be in.
Shortly before the tragedy, Mr Teo was seen holding a stack of papers while standing at a storage area. He appeared to be checking some containers.
At around 8.45am on Oct 1, 2021, Arumugam used a stacker to move a container.
State Coroner Nakhoda had earlier said: “When Mr Arumugam fully lowered the accident container to ground level... he observed that the container was uneven on the ground.
“From experience, he realised that this meant that there was something underneath the accident container.”

Arumugam operated the stacker to raise the container and saw Mr Teo lying on the ground. He immediately got out of the stacker and told a depot manager about what had happened.
The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force were alerted at about 9am. Mr Teo, who had multiple injuries, was pronounced dead at the scene.
State Coroner Nakhoda had found his death to be a work-related misadventure. This tragedy was the 30th workplace fatality in 2021.
There were 37 workplace deaths for the whole of that year.
Thirty-six workers died in 2023, a 21.7 per cent drop from the 46 deaths in 2022.

 

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6 years’ jail for cement lorry driver who caused death of cyclist while drink driving​

Andrew Wong

APR 04, 2024

SINGAPORE – An Indian national who had consumed alcohol was driving a cement lorry when the vehicle swerved into another lane in the opposite direction, causing the death of one cyclist.
Subburaj Selvakumar, 42, then told the police that he had been driving in the correct lane and had crashed into the cyclist as the latter was cycling too close to him.
He also told the officers he had consumed two cans of Anchor beer earlier that day, some time in the afternoon. Subburaj’s breathalyser test recorded 49 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
In Singapore, the legal alcohol limit for driving is 35mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, or 80mcg for every 100ml of blood.
On April 4, Subburaj pleaded guilty to one charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and one charge of dangerous driving.
He was sentenced to six years’ jail and disqualified from holding all classes of driving licences for 12 years.
The court heard that Subburaj was driving along Marina East Drive at 7.13pm on Jan 23, 2023.

Footage from his in-vehicle camera played in court showed the lorry being driven in an unsteady manner, swerving from lane to lane.
The lorry then swerved into the opposite lane and drove straight towards two cyclists who were cycling on the road beside the pavement, knocking down one of them. The lorry stopped after mounting the kerb and hitting a tree.
The victim, Saha Rajan, a 40-year-old Bangladeshi, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police officers on the scene reported that Subburaj smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and walked with an unsteady gait.
The prosecution said Subburaj had narrowly avoided two cyclists who were on the pavement.
The court also heard Subburaj was a repeat offender. His charge sheet showed that he had been convicted of speeding on Jan 16, 2022.
Motorists convicted of dangerous driving for the first time can be jailed for up to a year, fined up to $5,000, or both. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to $10,000, or both.
Those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol can be fined between $2,000 and $10,000, jailed for up to 12 months, or both. If convicted twice or more, they can be fined between $5,000 and $20,000, and jailed for up to two years.
They may also be disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

20 years’ jail for man who battered girlfriend to death over her relationships with other men​

The domestic violence turned fatal one night in January 2019, when M. Krishnan, battered Ms Mallika Begum Rahamansa Abdul Rahman to death. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Selina Lum
Senior Law Correspondent

APR 22, 2024

SINGAPORE – A married man, who lived with another woman that he habitually beat over trivial matters, intensified the abuse after she confessed to having relationships with other men.
The domestic violence turned fatal one night in January 2019, when M. Krishnan battered Ms Mallika Begum Rahamansa Abdul Rahman, then 40, to death in an alcohol-fuelled assault that took place over two hours.
On April 22, Krishnan, who is now 40, was sentenced to 20 years’ jail by the High Court.
He had pleaded guilty on April 12 to a reduced charge of culpable homicide for causing his girlfriend’s death by repeatedly hitting her between about 11.30pm on Jan 16, 2019 and about 1.30am on Jan 17, 2019 at the Woodlands flat where they lived.
Ms Mallika died from a head injury. She also suffered multiple rib fractures, and numerous bruises were found all over her body.
Krishnan was originally charged with murder. The reason for the amendment of the charge was not stated in open court.
A psychiatric evaluation found that he has intermittent explosive disorder, which had some contribution to his actions but did not impair his judgment and self-control.

A report from the Institute of Mental Health said the level of violence inflicted on the victim was likely caused by alcohol intoxication.
In sentencing the man, Justice Valerie Thean said his voluntary intoxication was an aggravating factor that reflected the need for deterrence.
The judge said he was sufficiently aware that he was susceptible to losing his temper in socially unacceptable ways, and that his behaviour worsened after drinking alcohol.

Krishnan has a history of domestic violence, and was referred for counselling at the IMH from December 2015 to December 2016.
He also has a string of past convictions related to disorderly and violent behaviour, such as verbally abusing and spitting on police officers.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh had sought 15 to 18 years’ jail for the “horrific case of domestic abuse”, noting that the victim was battered so badly that her entire face was swollen.
Defence counsel Ramesh Tiwary said Krishnan had co-operated with the police and admitted to the assaults on the victim in the two days leading to her death.

In 2015, Krishnan started an extra-marital affair with Ms Mallika, who had two daughters from her previous marriages.
In November that year, Krishnan’s wife returned home to see him and Ms Mallika drinking alcohol in the master bedroom.
She used vulgarities against him, and he punched her in the face. When he grabbed a whisky bottle, she apologised as she thought he was going to hit her with it.
Krishnan’s wife subsequently obtained a personal protection order against him. She is still married to him.
He continued his relationship with Ms Mallika, and admitted to hitting her at least once in 2017 over a trivial matter.
The abuse intensified from Jan 11, 2019 after she confessed to him that she had sexual relations with several men, including during the time he was incarcerated in 2018.
On the night of Jan 15, 2019, after one such confession while they were drinking alcohol at the flat, Krishnan kicked and slapped Ms Mallika in the face, punched her in the ribs, and kicked her in the thigh.
As she pleaded with him not to leave, he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head against a wardrobe.
He then pushed her forehead, causing her to hit her head against the kitchen cabinet.
The next day, Ms Mallika sought medical treatment at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. A CT scan of the brain found no evidence of internal bleeding or skull fractures.
That night, Krishnan and Ms Mallika spoke to her sister on the phone about her relationship with a man.
After the call, Krishnan, who had been drinking throughout the day, started to assault the victim as he felt angry and frustrated at her relationships with other men.
He slapped her, grabbed her by her hair, and punched and kicked her. He then helped her to the bed, and after a while, realised that she was not breathing.
He called Singapore Civil Defence Force at about 1.35am on Jan 17, 2019.
Paramedics responding to the call saw Ms Mallika on the bed with multiple bruises on her limbs and face. She was pronounced dead at the scene at about 1.45am.
Krishnan called his friend for a place to sleep after the assault. He surrendered to the police only at about 1pm that day.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

1 week's jail for man who hurled xenophobic abuse at bus driver in Covid-19 mask-wearing dispute​

TODAY file photo

• Nimal De Silva, 46, was convicted in January of insulting a bus captain with xenophobic verbal abuse in 2020
• De Silva livestreamed a dispute with the bus captain over mask-wearing during the period when Covid-19 restrictions were in force
• He was wearing a gaiter, but the driver, a China national, was not sure if this complied with the regulations
• De Silva was sentenced to one week's jail on Tuesday (April 30) and indicated through his lawyer that he would be appealing

BY

TAUFIQ ZALIZAN​

Published April 30, 2024

SINGAPORE — A man was on Tuesday (April 30) sentenced to one week’s jail for hurling xenophobic comments at a public bus captain during an incident back in 2020, which the offender live-streamed on Facebook.
Nimal De Silva, 46, a Singaporean, told the court through his lawyer that he is filing an appeal against the sentence and conviction.
De Silva had in January been convicted after trial to one count of using insulting words towards the bus captain, who is a Chinese national.

CASE BACKGROUND​

According to court documents, De Silva tried to board an SBS Transit bus 196 opposite Nicoll Highway on Aug 19, 2020, while wearing a gaiter to cover his mouth instead of a proper face mask.
Wearing a facial mask in public was made compulsory in April 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the requirement to wear it on public transport was only stood down in February 2023.

As the bus captain, aged 55 at that time, was unsure if the gaiter was compliant with SBS Transit’s masking policy, he refused to allow De Silva on board, but gestured at the man to cover his mouth properly.
The victim also at the same time contacted the SBS Transit operation centre to seek clarification on the issue.
De Silva pressed the door cock button outside the bus and let himself onto the vehicle.
“Thereafter, the accused began to livestream the incident on Facebook Live, and filmed himself confronting the victim with his handphone,” according to court documents prepared by Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie.
During the confrontation, De Silva referred to the bus captain with some expletives.
The captain, who was not conversant in English, continued to seek verification from SBS Transit operations centre about the neck gaiter and tried to get the staff manning the line to speak to the accused.

However, the bus captain was told that the centre would call the police for assistance.
Meanwhile, a passenger was heard through the video footage offering De Silva a mask to resolve the situation, but the latter declined, saying that he did not want to “give in”.
The recording of the Facebook livestream was still publicly available as of August 2021, and had garnered at least 847,000 views and shared 8,900 times.
While De Silva admitted to uttering some expletives during the kerfuffle, what was disputed between the defence and prosecution was whether or not some specific words that De Silva said could be considered insulting under the Protection from Harassment Act (Poha).
De Silva had said to the driver: “This is the problem when you have China people working in Singapore”.

'NO REASON' TO REFER TO NATIONALITY​

Delivering her guilty verdict in January, District Judge Lau Qiuyu noted how the prosecution argued that the sentence in dispute was objectively insulting.

This was because it was a xenophobic sentiment targeted at the victim’s nationality, making reference not just to the individual but the entire diaspora of Chinese nationals working in Singapore.
She noted the defence’s argument that the words were not insulting and that De Silva had no intention to insult the bus captain.
“The defence's position is that the disputed sentence was only conveyed because there was a communication breakdown, and there was no intention for the disputed sentence to be insulting or have any racial or xenophobic element,” said the judge.
Addressing this, however, she found that the sentence showed disrespect for people from China working here by saying that them working here is “a problem”.
“If the issue was simply on the specific incident between Mr De Silva and the victim, and their inability to communicate at the time Mr De Silva boarded the bus, there would be no reason to refer to 'China people working in Singapore' as a whole,” said District Judge Lau.
“Indeed, nationality and comprehension of languages (and hence the ability to communicate) are two separate matters.”
On Tuesday, District Judge Lau said that in deciding the appropriate sentence, the actual and potential harm to both the victim and the wider community must be considered.
The fact that the entire exchange where the victim had endured insulting words from De Silva was livestreamed and shared online “exacerbated” the harm that the victim experienced, with a “large audience” watching him being insulted by the offender.
There was also actual harm to the wider public due to the disruption of the public bus service arising from the incident.
Further, the sharing of the insulting words online via the livestreaming and uploading of the video gave rise to potential public disquiet, the judge added.
De Silva was offered and accepted S$15,000 bail while his case is pending appeal.
For communicating insulting words under Poha, a person can be jailed for up to 12 months, handed a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Former recruitment firm director first to be jailed for unauthorised collection of GST​

Source: Business Times
Article Date: 30 May 2024
Author: Tessa Oh
Vijay Kumar Muvva, former group executive director of Ensoft Consulting, he first such person to be convicted and jailed under Section 6A of the GST Act.
A former recruitment firm director was sentenced to seven weeks’ jail, and ordered to pay S$83,300, for unauthorised collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

This makes Vijay Kumar Muvva the first such person to be convicted and jailed under Section 6A of the GST Act, said the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore on Wednesday (May 29).

The 48-year-old ex-group executive director of Ensoft Consulting was also convicted that same day for failing to notify the Comptroller of Ensoft’s liability to register for GST. For this offence, he was ordered to pay a total of S$15,961.

Investigations revealed that the value of Ensoft’s taxable supplies for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2017, as well as the three quarters preceding it, had exceeded S$1 million.

Businesses have to register for GST if their taxable turnover for a 12-month period at the end of each calendar year exceeds S$1 million.

Despite knowing Ensoft was not a GST-registered company since 2016, Vijay did not notify the Comptroller of its liability to register for GST, as required by law.

The net GST due arising from his failure to register Ensoft for GST was S$139,612.09.

Further, the court heard that Vijay continued to authorise his employees to collect GST from his clients, as he was concerned that they may become suspicious otherwise.

Between Jan 1, 2019, and Sep 12, 2019, Ensoft issued 34 invoices to its customers on over 34 occasions. These invoices had charged 7 per cent GST and the customers paid the tax to Ensoft, despite the latter not being GST-registered.

Over the 34 occasions, the company collected taxes totalling S$27,766.71.

Vijay has since made full restitution of the tax collected. His wife, Suchitra Ambati, 46, who was also involved in the case, will be dealt with by the court separately.

Source: Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

8 years’ jail for man who cheated 6 victims out of $2.85m by offering to recover timeshare losses​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

May 09, 2024

SINGAPORE – A scammer was sentenced to eight years’ jail on May 9 for duping six people out of more than $2.85 million in total.
The victims had already suffered losses in earlier investments.
Despite this, Murlidharan Muhundan, 47, cheated them through a series of “fees”, “commissions” and other fictitious payments after claiming that he could help them recover their monies.
The Singaporean, who committed the offences from June 2020 to October 2022, pleaded guilty on April 5 to 18 counts of cheating involving more than $1 million.
Another 40 similar charges linked to the remaining amount were considered during sentencing.
In earlier proceedings, the prosecution said that Murlidharan had earned the trust of his victims, who were between 57 and 77 years old.
The first victim was a 77-year-old female retiree who was an investor in a failed “Gold Crown timeshare” investment scheme.

Murlidharan was not part of the Gold Crown investment scheme.
In 2020, he worked as a sales and operations manager at a debt collection firm called Republic Business Consultancy (RBC).
While working as a debt collector, he came across clients who wanted to terminate and recover monies from their timeshare investments.

Murlidharan knew that it was not possible to recover monies from such investments.
Despite this, he decided to cheat his victims as he needed money to repay his gambling debts and loans from illegal moneylenders, said Deputy Public Prosecutors Kenny Yang and Kiera Yu. He also knew that the woman had previously lost money in a failed Gold Crown timeshare investment scheme.
She received a call from Murlidharan, who referred to himself as “Darren”. He asked her to meet him at RBC’s office at People’s Park Centre shopping mall near Chinatown, and she turned up there on July 9, 2020.
He then lied to her, claiming that an organisation called “Bhagyam Agencies” had purportedly recovered £575,000 (S$973,000) from her earlier investment and that she needed to fork out $30,000 as “fees” to receive it.
Six days later, the woman and her husband met Murlidharan in Orchard Road and handed him the amount.

After that, she received a receipt, purportedly issued by “Bhagyam Agencies Bangalore”, stating that the so-called payment was made.
Over multiple occasions, Murlidharan cheated the woman of another $310,000 until late 2020.
On Jan 30, 2021, her son lodged a police report, claiming that she had been duped into making the payments.
Court documents did not state what happened next, but Murlidharan left RBC and joined a firm called Conquistador Debt Management as its head of operations in May 2021.
The court heard that he also cheated five more people by using a similar method before he was caught and charged in court in May 2022.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Man fined after seizure of over 1,200kg of illegally imported frozen poultry from Malaysia​

The illegal consignment which was seized contained more than 1,200kg of frozen poultry. PHOTO: SFA, ICA

Fatimah Mujibah

May 09, 2024, 08:50 PM

SINGAPORE - A man was fined $8,000 on May 8 for illegally importing meat products from Malaysia.
The offender, Anamalai Anadam, is the partner of Suri Rao Coconut Trading, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a joint statement on May 9.
A lorry with a consignment of frozen poultry, falsely declared as processed food, was detected by ICA officers at Tuas Checkpoint on Oct 1, 2022. The case was then referred to SFA for investigation.
The illegal consignment, which was seized, contained more than 1,200kg of frozen poultry, according to SFA’s investigation.
In Singapore, food imports must meet SFA’s requirements since illegally imported food products of unknown sources may pose a food safety risk.
Food can be brought into Singapore only by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit, said the authorities.
Additionally, meat and meat-related products can be imported only from accredited sources in approved countries that comply with the Republic’s food safety standards and requirements.

Those who are caught importing meat products without a valid permit can be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to a year.
Repeat offenders can be fined up to $20,000 or jailed for up to two years or both.
ICA said it will continue to conduct security checks to find and prevent illegal importation attempts to keep Singapore safe, while SFA said it will continue to safeguard food safety through its integrated food safety system, which includes strict import regulations and enforcement.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Jail for RSAF regular who targeted victims in phishing attacks to access their intimate images​

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

May 16, 2024

SINGAPORE – A man targeted at least 22 victims in phishing attacks over the course of two years to access multiple women’s intimate images on their social media or cloud storage accounts for his own sexual gratification.
On May 15, K Eshwaran, 26, was sentenced to 11 months’ jail for his crimes. A Republic of Singapore Air Force regular, he has been suspended from all work-related duties.
Between January 2019 and November 2021, he used an illicit website providing phishing services to gain access to his victims’ accounts, where he searched for compromising images.
The prosecution said that, in several instances, he even reached out to the victims’ contacts by posing as the victims. He then asked these contacts for intimate images.
Multiple victims alerted the police and Eshwaran was caught.
He was released on bail but continued to commit a similar offence, targeting a woman in a phishing attack in January 2023 while he was under investigation.
He pleaded guilty to 10 charges under the Computer Misuse Act, including making unauthorised access to his victims’ social media accounts.

Twenty-one other charges were considered during sentencing.
In 2019, Eshwaran registered for an account on a website that would gain him unauthorised access to other people’s social media accounts.
He then targeted multiple people he knew in real life, sending them phishing links generated through the website that he tricked them into clicking.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Matthew Choo and Joshua Phang said in court documents: “The accused told victims that their intimate images had been posted onto social media sites.
“The accused then sent a phishing link to the victims, telling them that the link would direct them to the page where their intimate images are posted.
“This phishing link then brought the victim to a simulated login page.”
To reinforce his cover story, Eshwaran also sent his victims a screenshot of either an image of a woman with a sexually charged caption or a screenshot of the victims themselves.
His victims were directed to a simulated login page for various social media sites after they clicked on the malicious links.
Login credentials they entered on the phishing page were captured by the website, and Eshwaran could then access them via a page on the portal titled “My Victims”.
The DPPs said Eshwaran also used a “hacking method” to target some of his victims.
He entered e-mail addresses linked to his victims’ social media accounts into the illicit website, which generated a list of possible login credentials for these accounts.
Via trial and error, he used this list of login credentials to access the victims’ social media accounts.
After obtaining the victims’ login credentials by either method, he would trawl through their accounts to see if any intimate images were stored on them.
In some instances, Eshwaran impersonated the social media account holders to ask their online contacts for intimate images. He targeted people he thought might have an intimate relationship with the account users.
One of his victims was a 24-year-old woman whom he sent a phishing link to on or around Jan 29, 2019, to obtain the login credentials to her Facebook account.
He also pretended to be the woman to send messages to six of her contacts. Three of them responded but did not provide any images.
They eventually informed the woman of their suspicion that her account might have been hacked, and she alerted the police in May 2019.
Eshwaran’s bail was set at $18,000 on May 15, and he is expected to surrender himself at the State Courts on June 19 to begin serving his sentence.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: “The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) holds its service personnel to high standards of discipline and integrity. Service personnel who commit offences will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
“The SAF will initiate further actions upon the conclusion of court proceedings, which may include discharging him from service.”

 

[True Believer]

Giving up his position as a key board member of Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple would mean the end of his acts of dishonesty that were possible only because of the high post he held there. In the same way, our ruling party ministers do not wish to lose their seat in Parliament during a GE, because it would mean the end of their obscene salary from taxpayers.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Jail for woman who started fire that left then boyfriend with burn scars for life​

Daljeet Kaur Dharam Chand, 35, was convicted of one of count of rashly contributing to the risk of causing a fire in her Sembawang rental flat. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

May 21, 2024

SINGAPORE – A woman who started a fire that left her then boyfriend with burns on 15 per cent of his body was sentenced to a year and seven months’ jail on May 20.
In March after a trial, Daljeet Kaur Dharam Chand, 35, was convicted of one of count of rashly contributing to the risk of causing a fire in her Sembawang rental flat.
Mr Premraj Ragoo, then 32, who was her boyfriend at the time of the offence in September 2021, suffered burns, including on his back and left buttock.
The prosecution told the court in earlier proceedings the Malaysian man became depressed after the incident and has permanent scarring on his arms.
The couple had lived together in the rental flat and they are believed to have split up.
In his submissions filed in February, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Tan told the court: “On Sept 6, 2021, the victim resolved to leave the flat and, in all likelihood, his relationship with the accused.”
According to the prosecutor, Kaur became angry and rashly lit two matchsticks in the flat after pouring thinner on the floor, causing the fire that resulted in hurt to Mr Premraj.

DPP Tan also said that Kaur was a possessive lover and had sought to win Mr Premraj’s devotion through emotional manipulation, adding: “She offered the victim complete financial provision, an offer that he found too good to refuse. Over time, she normalised unhealthy control and oversight.
“When disputes arose, she threatened to kill herself. The resultant toxic relationship was a ticking time bomb.”
Court documents stated that Kaur decided to stage an elaborate stunt by buying thinner and matches when Mr Premraj wanted to leave on Sept 6, 2021.

DPP Tan said that Mr Premraj appeared nonchalant and an enraged Kaur poured the thinner on the floor.
The prosecutor also told the court that an intoxicated Mr Premraj had sought to defuse the situation by snatching the thinner from Kaur.
But when she resisted, he resorted to “staging his own stunt” by pouring the flammable liquid on himself.
Mr Premraj started losing consciousness due to his intoxicated state and inhalation of fumes from the thinner. He then sat down outside a bedroom.
DPP Tan had said: “At or around the time he passed out, the accused rashly and inconceivably decided to light two matchsticks while standing in the kitchen area.

“While the matchsticks were still burning, she failed to hold on to them. They dropped (and) caught fire with the thinner. The fire spread towards the victim and engulfed him in flames.”
Kaur was represented by lawyer Asoka Markandu, and during the trial, the defence claimed Mr Premraj had started the fire.
Among other things, the defence said Kaur had dropped the matchsticks after the fire started and that Mr Premraj had been holding a lighter.
However, the prosecution said these two points were fabricated afterthoughts, stressing that Kaur had earlier admitted in two of her statements to the authorities to starting the fire.
The court heard that Mr Premraj declined surgery as he could not pay for it.
Instead, he returned to Malaysia with his burns bandaged and recovered on his own, incurring expenses of over RM2,000 (S$570).

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Jail for woman who swopped two digits on her motorcycle licence plate to avoid ERP charges​

Samuel Devaraj

May 23, 2024

SINGAPORE – A Malaysian woman who swopped two digits on her motorcycle licence plate to avoid Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on May 10.
Over four months in 2019 and 2020, Deivanai Karunanithi, 28, committed 68 ERP-related offences and five illegal parking offences with the altered plate.
She failed to fit an in-vehicle unit on her motorcycle, which is compulsory for foreign-registered motorcycles.
However, the ERP violations were not picked up as cameras captured the false rear licence plate.
Deivanai is the first person to be convicted over the use of a foreign-registered vehicle affixed with false licence plates for purposes of evading detection of unlawful activity.
She pleaded guilty to 14 charges of failing to ensure that the identification mark of a vehicle was correctly exhibited at the back of her vehicle.
She received a week’s jail sentence for each charge, with the court ordering three of the sentences to run consecutively.

Land Transport Authority (LTA) prosecutor Darren Toh said that one of its senior enforcement officers spotted a parked foreign-registered motorcycle in Bayfront Avenue at about 5pm on Feb 21, 2020.
The officer noted that the motorcycle displayed an identification mark of JTH1825 in the front, but JTH8125 in the rear, and found that only the first vehicle number was registered. The motorcycle was impounded for investigations.
Mr Toh said investigations revealed that the registered owner of the vehicle was Deivanai, who was at that time a security officer holding a work permit.
She would enter Singapore with the correct identification mark on both the front and rear of the motorcycle, but after passing through the Singapore Customs and upon reaching the Bukit Timah Expressway, she would swop the numerals “1” and “8” on the rear of the motorcycle.
“The accused admitted that she had done so in order to evade ERP charges,” Mr Toh said.
He added that from LTA’s records, the 68 ERP related offences and five illegal parking offences Deivanai committed occurred between October 2019 and February 2020, when the vehicle had the incorrect identification mark on its rear.
Offenders who fail to ensure that the identification mark of a vehicle is correctly exhibited according to the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to three months, or both.
Repeat offenders can be fined up to $2,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.