A 35-year-old Indian-origin man, who is a resident of Singapore was jailed for three months on Friday, as he was found guilty of attacking a foreign worker and causing serious facial injuries by using a weapon.
The accused, Ganesan Thennarasu pleaded guilty of hurting his compatriot Baskar Praveen, near Tuas View Dormitory after a fight.
The fight took place at the dormitory in Tuas South Avenue 1 at around 5.45pm on Sept 1, 2017. It started when 26-year-old Baskar saw that the accused was smiling at him and it annoyed the victim. The brawl triggered after Baskar went to confront Ganesan.
Later, both of them went to a nearby security post and an officer gave them a warning. But seeing the situation the officer asked Baskar and Ganesan to leave the premises. Then the victim walked away with his friend, Chithamparam Siranjeevi. But the friend observed that the Ganesan was following them.
The accused took the weapon from his pocket as soon as the victim turned around and flicked it across the face of Baskar several times. When Chithamparam noticed that the face of his friend was bleeding, he somehow managed to take him back to the security post for help. Meanwhile, the duty officer detained the accused and called the local police.
Baskar was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, which is located at 1 Jurong East Street 21 and almost 22 minutes away from the Tuas View Dormitory. The medical reports showed that the victim had suffered visible cuts below his left eyelid, face and lips.
Baskar was given an outpatient sick leave, which is given to the workers who have worked at least 3 months with the employer.
As per Singapore law, usually, any convict of causing hurt with a weapon faces a jail term of up to seven years and /or a fine and/or a caning. Here, "dangerous weapon" could include:
- An instrument for shooting, stabbing or cutting (e.g. a knife or a pair of scissors)
- An instrument which is likely to cause death when used as a weapon of offence
- By means of fire or any heated substance (e.g. scalding someone with boiling water)
- By means of any explosive substance
- By means of any substance which is harmful to inhale, swallow or receive into the blood
- By means of any animal (e.g. letting out a dangerous animal)
