An Indian-origin Singaporean was jailed by a court here for 21 months and four weeks on Wednesday for several offenses committed last year, including assault, harassment and making racial remarks at police officers.
43-year-old Sanjeevan Maha Lingam, on his birthday on September 24 last year, punched a sanitation worker and broke his jaw during an argument over sleeping in a bin center of the victim.
According to a report in The Straits Times newspaper, he pleaded guilty to a total of five charges, one for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, two for using criminal force to prevent a public servant from discharging his duty, and Under the Protection from Harassment Act.
The court documents do not mention whether Sanjeevan was working at the time of the offence.
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Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordan Lee said the cleaner finished work around 7 p.m. and went to sleep on a couch at the Bin Center in the Block 1 Jalan Kukoh housing estate. Sanjeevan woke up the sweeper at around 11.15 pm and they got into a dispute over the rest of the sweeper in the bin center.
“During the brawl, (Sanjeevan) once punched the victim’s left cheek with the intention of causing grievous hurt to the victim,” prosecutor Lee said.
When Kleiner went to a doctor the next day for pain in his jaw, an X-ray showed he had fractured his jaw and needed surgery.
During his mitigation, Sanjeevan, who did not have a lawyer, said that he had no one to celebrate his birthday as his parents were not around. His decision to wake up to give the cleaners a piece of cake has caused controversy, he added without providing further details.
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Twelve days earlier, on 12 September, two police officers responded to a report about a disturbance committed by a drunk man at the Hong Lim Market and Food Center.
Holding a bottle and intoxicated, Sanjeev got agitated and used abusive language on an officer talking to him. The officers arrested him and confiscated a plastic stool which he had allegedly thrown.
While he was in a lock-up in the police cantonment premises, Sanjeevan sat on a bench with his left hand holding a sandal in the other hand. As one of the officers was filing the report about the plastic stool, Sanjeevan threw the shoe and hit his left hand. According to the report, the officer was not injured.
In another incident on February 21 this year, Sergeant Muhammad Firdous Hussain and his accomplice were sent at 1.15 pm to investigate a report that a man was harassing women around Block 34 Upper Cross Street in the Central Business District .
While patrolling the area, officers came across Sanjeevan at a fitness corner at 51 Chin Swee Road and approached him to fit the description of the suspect in the report. On finding a glass pipe in his bag, they arrested him and took him to the police cantonment premises.
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While waiting to be taken to his Antigen Rapid Test Swab at the station, Sanjeevan refused to follow the instructions of the officials and repeatedly took off his mask. Then suddenly he stood up, took off his mask and spat on Sergeant Firdous’s face. He also hurled racist insults at the officer.
Calling for a prison sentence of two years, three months and four weeks for Sanjivan, prosecutor Lee cited a list of his prior offenses to say he was no stranger to violence and that he had repeatedly lashed out at officers— He had shown defiant behavior.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Sanjeevan could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined or cane. For using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to four years, or with fine, or with both. For an offense under the Protection from Harassment Act, he could face up to two years in prison, a fine of up to SGD10,000, or both.
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