Obbana Rajah
Earlier today, 24 year old Sivakandesh was found guilty of attempting to cause hurt to a public servant.
On the 10th of January last year, Sivakandesh was arrested at at an open car park in front of Block 624, Yishun Ring Road, at about 12.05pm.
After the police were alerted by a tip-off, they found Sivakandesh behaving suspiciously in a parked car. They later came to learn that he was trying to steal a pair of sunglasses worth $150 and a green purse containing $87.30.
After lying to police officers that he owned the car, Sivakandesh showed them an expired passport belonging to someone else, and a name card of the rightful car owner.
When officers tried to arrest him, Sivakandesh resisted and attempted to use a stun gun on Lim Kok Hwee, a 42 year old police officer.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Nim pushed for a sentence of five years of corrective training in addition to 209 days of imprisonment, emphasising the “striking need for deterrence”.
Netizens feel similarly, stating that the consequences on those trying to harm police officers should be harsher.
Under the Arms and Explosive Act, anyone found guilty of unlawful possession of arms without a licence can be fined up to $5,000, jailed up to five years or be sentenced to at least six strokes of the cane.
For voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant performing his duty, Sivakandesh could be given up to seven years’ jail, a fine, caning, or a combination of the three.
For committing theft, Sivakandesh could be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
obbana@theindependent.sg