Illegal Lankan jailed for slashing man in Singapore
A Sri Lankan man slashed the abdomen of a relative following a
dispute over a woman's clothes, which were meant for safekeeping but
were instead thrown away.
The woman, Sugasni Raman, 24, had gone with her boyfriend,
Pannerselvam Kuppusamy, 30, to her friend's house to ask about the
clothes on September 9, a District Court heard. At the Toa Payoh Lorong
5 flat, they were received by the friend's distant uncle, Sri Lankan
national Sinnathamby Thevaraiah.
Thevaraiah, who turned 50 in May, told them that the clothes had been
thrown away, sparking a shouting match.
The argument became so heated that Thevaraiah reached for a
retractable wire cutter from a nearby altar in the house and slashed
Kuppusamy in his abdomen.
He was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, bleeding from a 35cm-long
gash. Thevaraiah was later arrested at the flat.
District Judge Jill Tan on Monday sentenced Thevaraiah to 11 months'
jail and fined him Singapore $4,000 for hurting Kuppusamy with the
weapon, as well as for staying illegally in Singapore. The Court heard
that Thevaraiah had previously worked here as a freelance electrician
and plumber.
He remained here even after his special pass expired in December
2003. In mitigation, Thevaraiah said that Kuppusamy had initiated the
assault by hitting his neck with his hand. He added: "The victim was
aggressive, drunk and also called me an effeminate man on three
occasions." Thevaraiah escaped caning as he is over 50 years. Straits
Times
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