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Two more Indian workers jailed for involvement in 2013 riot

Xinhua, February 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Two Indian nationals were sentenced to 27 months and 25 months in jail, respectively, in Singapore for their involvement in a rare riot in December 2013.

Rajendran Mohan, 26, was given 27 months' jail for rioting and mischief against a motor bus after pleading guilty on Tuesday. Sathiyamoorthy Sivaraman, 27, who pleaded guilty last September, was sentenced to 25 months in jail.

The district court heard that Rajendran was heading back to his dormitory after drinks with a friend in the evening of Dec 8, 2013, when he noticed a police vehicle ablaze in the Little India neighborhood. Another police vehicle had overturned and a large group were gathered in the vicinity.

Rajendran joined a group of at least five others, by throwing objects such as a plastic crate at a bus and inserting lighted objects in the fuel inlet. He also tried to topple the bus by kicking and pushing it before cajoling others in the unlawful assembly to join him, the court heard. Rajendran was arrested at the scene.

His acts were identified through footage captured by the camera mounted on the side of the bus.

The prosecution pressed for a significant custodial term of 30 to 36 months in jail and three strokes of the cane. District Judge Ong Hian was not persuaded that Rajendran's acts of mischief were worse than several of his co-accused to warrant caning.

The maximum penalty for rioting is a jail term of seven years and caning.

The largely unexpected riot broke out among some 300 foreign workers from South Asia following a fatal accident that killed an Indian worker in Little India, a neighborhood in Singapore known for its distinctive Indian culture and shops. Local media said more than 50 officers were injured and more than 20 emergency vehicles damaged.

A total of 25 individuals have been charged in court since for their respective roles and involvement in the riot in Little India. At least one of them was sentenced to strokes of the cane in addition to a jail term. Endi