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SINGAPORE: On Wednesday, May 6, a man the prosecutor called a “threat to society” was sentenced to seven months in prison for verbally abusing the police and distancing security officers who were urging them to comply with the measures. COVID-19.
Ravi Sinathamby Subramaniam, 53, pleaded guilty to two counts of verbal abuse by police and health officials and a third count of threatening to “break” the faces of three health officers.
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Five other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Ravi had committed the offenses for two days last month: He first went to the Hao Mart convenience store at Block 64, Whampoa Drive on April 14.
He was standing in line, holding an open beer can and reeking of alcohol and complaining out loud why the line was not properly arranged.
When the police spoke to him, he became aggressive and spoke loudly to them, trying to leave and refusing to cooperate, drawing a crowd.
He released multiple vulgarities to the police and was arrested but offended four days later at a cafeteria in Block 81, Whampoa Drive.
When a health officer approached him imposing safe distance measures while wearing his mask over his chin rather than over his nose and mouth, Ravi became aggressive.
She cursed the officer and a second colleague who joined her, saying, “Don’t let me see you again, otherwise I will break your face.”
Later he said to the two officers and a third colleague, “The next time I see you, I will break your face.”
The prosecution had lobbied for at least 10 months in jail, saying the case “presents an important opportunity for this court to send a clear message that such conduct” against front-line officers in the fight against the coronavirus will not be tolerated.
The judge had asked for more arguments on two similar cases as comparisons against Ravi’s case, and Deputy Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said Ravi had committed more serious earlier crimes, including the latest threat to his brother with boiling water and a helicopter.
“The intimidation in the present case must be seen in the context of the profile of the victims, the number of victims, the number of times that they were threatened, the recidivism of the accused within four days and serious antecedents, many of which are related to violence, “Koh said.
He said Ravi has amassed a long list of crimes spanning decades.
“Despite being repeatedly incarcerated, he does not appear to be able to remain crime-free for very long,” Koh said, adding that Ravi has even been punished before but “remains a threat to society.”
His criminal record now shows a trend of intimidating behavior towards public servants, he said.
Ravi, who was not represented, said: “I apologize to the court. I apologize to the official and apologize to the government for what I have done without my knowledge because I am drunk.”
The judge said he noted that the threats in the two cases used to compare to Ravi’s were “more serious,” and gave Ravi a three-month prison term less than that requested by the prosecution.
He also led a session for Ravi to receive advice on his underlying behavior and to formulate treatment plans.
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