Corpun file 7733 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 19 September 2001

Rioters who appeal will get 5 years' jail

By Alethea Lim
Court correspondent

CHIEF Justice Yong Pung How yesterday gave this warning to rioters who come before him to have their sentences reduced: They will get the maximum five years' jail.

He said this after rejecting an appeal from a man who was sentenced to 4½ years' jail and was ordered to be given 12 strokes of the cane for threatening and assaulting a police officer in 1999, together with a group of men.

CJ Yong said he was going to 'stop all this nonsense', referring to rioting.

The appellant, Rajasekaran Armuthelingam, 25, was convicted of rioting by a district court last November.

He and his friends had slapped repeatedly a police officer, Staff Sgt Rajandran Balasundram, for about an hour and also threatened to kill him and his family members.

The incident happened on March 7, 1999, when the officer and his two friends were walking back to their cars after supper in the Serangoon Road area. Staff Sgt Rajandran was hit on the head from behind and punched repeatedly by a group of men, even after he had identified himself as a police officer.

Three men then dragged him to a nearby building where he was slapped repeatedly and threatened. Rajasekaran and four others then joined this group.

After about an hour, the assailants let him go.

The officer suffered cuts on his left eyebrow and forehead.

Arguing Rajasekaran's appeal yesterday, lawyers Shashi Nathan and Chenthil Kumarasingam said their client was never involved in the assaults.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Peter Koy said Staff Sgt Rajandran was sure it was Rajasekaran who had assaulted him. He said the sentence was not excessive as the man had been convicted for rioting in 1996, and his 1999 offence was committed when he was on probation for attempted theft.

Noting that there was 'strong identification evidence', CJ Yong upheld the sentence.

Corpun file 7735 at www.corpun.com

The Straits Times, Singapore, 20 September 2001

Teens Attacked

Worker at boys' hostel molested minor

By Elena Chong

AN ASSISTANT supervisor who worked the night shift at the Bukit Batok Boys' Hostel molested a 16-year-old boy after offering him the use of a cordless telephone.

Charles George, 42, outraged the teen's modesty four times between October and Nov 2 last year.

While the teenager was using the cordless phone, George would rub himself against the boy, and caress his groin and private parts.

He pleaded guilty to the offences.

Two other charges were considered in sentencing.

Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jared Pereira said it began one night last October, when George went to the boy at about 11 pm and offered to let him use the cordless telephone, a privilege that broke hostel rules.

On Nov 2, he got the boy to go to an empty room with his mattress so he could sleep there. While the boy used the phone, George sat next to him on the mattress, kissing the back of his neck, and fondling him.

Another supervisor happened to see them from a neighbouring block and reported it to the hostel director the next day.

The hostel in De Souza Avenue in Upper Bukit Timah, where the boy stayed while on probation, is run by Teen Challenge.

DPP Pereira pressed for a heavier sentence for George than the established nine months' jail and caning that has been set as a benchmark for molesters who touch a victim's private parts.

He argued that George had abused his position of responsibility and trust by taking advantage of the teenager in a reprehensible manner.

His acts endangered the very purpose of probation imposed by the court to provide a stable and safe environment for young offenders and give them a second chance.

'The present case is a prime example of a man who has perverted his role and, indeed, contradicted the very purpose of his vocation, by abusing his vulnerable victim,' he said.

Senior District Judge Richard Magnus agreed. What George had done was despicable, perverse and deliberate, he said.

He sentenced him to the maximum of two years' jail and six strokes of the cane on each charge and ordered that the sentences run consecutively. George will serve a total of four years and receive 12 strokes of the cane.

Copyright © 2001 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.