Drunk Tamil man fined, jailed for hurting railway officer in Singapore

Singapore, Oct 11

A 24-year-old drunk Tamil man has been fined SG$800 and sentenced to four weeks in jail for voluntarily causing hurt to a railway officer in Singapore, a media report said.

Meenachisuntharam Pandiselvam refused to deboard a train and scuffled with a 55-year-old assistant station manager on January 16 this year at Punggol MRT Station, Channel News Asia reported.

Pandiselvam, who had consumed two 180ml bottles of vodka, repeatedly slammed the victim's head against the train door, leaving him concussed.

The court heard that on the day of the incident at around 12.15 a.m., the victim saw Pandiselvam inside the carriage of a train that was scheduled to return to the depot.

The victim had to pull Pandiselvam and his belongings out of the train when the latter refused to leave.

Upon being repeatedly told to leave, Pandiselvam became aggressive and started throwing his belongings around.

He was told that the police would be called if he did not leave.

Pandiselvam then chased the assistant station manager, who ducked into a train cabin to avoid him, and the pair began scuffling, the news report said.

While they were on the floor of the train cabin, Pandiselvam pushed the assistant station manager against the train door, causing his head to hit the door several times.

They had to be separated by another station employee, and the victim went to a hospital with a concussion and abrasions over his jaw and elbow.

The prosecutor sought four to six weeks' jail and a fine of SG$800 to SG$1,000, saying Pandiselvam was the aggressor and was voluntarily intoxicated.

The prosecutor said even after being restrained, Pandiselvam "continued to behave belligerently by taking off his clothes" and refusing to leave a seat in the train cabin.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Pandiselvam could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to SG$5,000, or both.