Indian-origin man gets jail for attacking Singapore official

Singapore, Dec 16 (IANS) An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 11 years and nine months' in prison in Singapore with nine strokes of the cane for attacking an enforcement officer with a sickle two years ago.

Vickneswaran Sivan, 32, attacked Certis enforcement officer Mohamad Afiq Mohamad Jamil, 29, on November 9, 2020, severely injuring and causing deep lacerations to the victim's thigh and calf, The Straits Times reported.

Sivan flew into a rage when he saw his friend being issued a summons for smoking at the void deck of a block of flats in Canberra Link in Sembawang.

District Judge Marvin Bay, who handed down the sentence on Thursday, noted that Sivan had shown contempt towards authority.

"It would be a moral hazard if officers were deterred from fearlessly and conscientiously performing their functions, flowing from any concern that they might face physical harm... from the very individuals whose conduct and compliance they were policing," he said.

In October, Sivan had pleaded guilty to seven charges, including voluntarily causing grievous hurt and causing hurt to a public servant, the paper reported.

The court heard that Sivan was drinking with two friends at a void deck of a Housing Board block in Canberra on November 9, 2020.

One of Sivan's friends, a 41-year-old man, was holding a lit cigarette when Jamil, who was patrolling the area with a Certis auxiliary police officer, told them that they had committed an offence.

The auxiliary policeman issued the summons, which enraged Sivan.

He found a sickle with a curved blade that measured 16cm, and punched the auxiliary policeman's face.

Following this, he slashed Jamil's hands and legs at least four times with the sickle, and ran after the auxiliary policeman, who managed to escape.

Jamil was hospitalised for 141 days following the incident.

He is expected to make a full recovery, but will have permanent scars.Sivan, who was arrested the next day after the incident, was charged in court on November 11, 2020, and was released on bail.

In that period, he tortured hin seven-months pregnant wife by pulling her hair and bag.

In 2021, he assaulted her, causing multiple fractures, and stole $1,930 from her bank account.