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SINGAPORE: The trial of a Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer accused of assaulting a suspect to obtain a drug confession began on Monday (November 23).
Vengedesh Raj Nainar Nagarajan, who has since been suspended, is contesting three counts of willfully causing harm to Sivabalan Kanniappan in 2017 to obtain a confession from him.
Deputy Prosecutor Han Ming Kuang said Sivabalan was arrested in the early hours of January 2, 2017, for importing drugs at the Woodlands checkpoint.
The 34-year-old Malaysian man was detained at the checkpoint after an officer discovered drugs hidden in a raincoat on Sivabalan’s motorcycle.
Sivabalan cooperated and did not resist, and was handed over to the Woodlands CNB team. Vengedesh was part of an additional support team that was activated around 5 a.m. that day, the court heard.
“New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday, so January 2 was also a holiday,” Han said.
Vengedesh, now 33, was a narcotics officer at CNB with the rank of corporal at the time.
“When the defendant arrived at the Woodlands checkpoint shortly before 6am, Sivabalan had not admitted the crime,” Han laments.
“The prosecution will show that the accused took Sivabalan to the bathroom on three separate occasions. On each occasion, acting on his own account, in violation of CNB protocols and the law, the accused attacked Sivabalan with the purpose of extorting him. a confession in relation to the crime of drugs. “
According to the charge sheets, Vengedesh kicked, hit and slapped Sivabalan on the toilet at the Woodlands Checkpoint CNB office between 5:58 AM and 9:30 AM.
The prosecution intends to call a total of 18 witnesses, including CNB and police officers. They will also feature CCTV footage and statements from Vengedesh.
CNB investigated the incident after Sivabalan made assault allegations and suspended Vengedesh from October 2019.
Sivabalan was later convicted of a drug offense and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence. They also spanked him.
Vengedesh is defended by attorney Peter Fernando. He faces other charges that have been dropped for the time being, including insulting the police.
If convicted of voluntarily causing harm to obtain a confession, you could be imprisoned for up to seven years and fined or punished.
