Indian-origin man gets jail, caning for role in alleged stabbing in Singapore

Singapore, July 11 (IANS) A 29-year-old Indian-origin recalcitrant offender in Singapore was sentenced to more than 17 months in prison on Tuesday for possessing and handing over a weapon, which was allegedly used to stab a man in 2022.

S. Mageshwaran, who was out on bail, was also awarded 12 strokes of the cane, after he pleaded guilty to multiple crimes including harassment, being in possession of the harpoon and traffic offences, The Straits Times reported.

According to court documents, Mageshwaran had a 20 cm tactical harpoon with him which he handed over to his accomplice Sheran Raj Balasubramaniam, who then allegedly used it to stab a 23-year-old man.

The two were charged with voluntarily causing hurt with common intention in 2022.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng said Mageshwaran was convicted of being in possession of a dangerous weapon in 2019 for which he was later sentenced to more than three years in jail and was released in 2020. On November 30, 2020, while being under a remission order, a drunk Mageshwaran used vulgar language against a policeman in Dunlop Street in Little India for which he was arrested and later released on bail.

On June 3, 2022, Sheran asked him to bring along a weapon as they planned to go to Candy Bar at Cuscaden Road.

Heng said that in the taxi on the way to Candy Bar, Mageshwaran handed the tactical harpoon to Sheran, who then stabbed a man later outside the bar.

“Thereafter, at about 4.30am outside Candy Bar, the co-accused stabbed (a man) using the tactical harpoon,” Heng was cited as saying in The Times.

Police said the victim was found bleeding profusely with the weapon stuck in his back. He was rushed to the hospital and is now in a stable condition.

Mageshwaran and Sheran, who had fled the scene, were identified through investigations and surveillance footage.

Mageshwaran also committed traffic offences including driving a car without a licence in Yishun in September 2021, The Times reported.

According to his defence lawyer, Mageshwaran has major depressive disorder, and his failure to exercise consequential thinking during the traffic offences was due to his relationship issues, The Times reported.

The lawyer further said that Mageshwaran had no knowledge that Sheran would use the harpoon to attack the 23-year-old in Cuscaden Road.

While Sheran's case is still pending, offenders can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, and caned for voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.