Jail for man who wielded antlers in fight that led to ex-colleague's death when weapon pierced his eye

SINGAPORE — In a stabbing-turned-freak accident, Saravanan Arimuram drunkenly attacked a fellow passenger in the prime mover they were travelling in by using a pair of antlers he had grabbed from the vehicle’s dashboard.

When the heavy vehicle toppled on its side, part of the antlers broke off and embedded itself in the left eye of Saravanan’s ex-colleague, who had been at the wheel and was also drunk.

He died about two hours later in the National University Hospital.

On Tuesday (March 24), Saravanan pleaded guilty to committing a rash act endangering Sivakumar Perumal’s life on Feb 15, 2018. He was sentenced to one year and eight months’ jail for his actions.

The 33-year-old man also admitted to causing hurt to the fellow passenger, Sivakumar’s nephew, Mr Navin Partiban, by attacking him with the antlers.

Saravanan was initially charged with murder when he was hauled to court following the incident.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that Sivakumar, then aged 43, was having drinks with Mr Navin and their co-workers from Applied Logistics at the void deck of a block of flats in Jurong East.

Saravanan was drinking with some friends there as well. At about 5pm, he asked for a lift to Yishun from Sivakumar and Mr Navin, who was then aged 18.

Saravanan and Mr Navin sat in the front passenger seat of the prime mover while Sivakumar drove.

Along the way, Saravanan’s girlfriend told him over the phone to meet her at Toa Payoh instead.

When he asked Sivakumar to take a detour, the other man refused as he already had a dinner appointment. The two men began arguing and Saravanan insisted on taking over the wheel, but Sivakumar refused.

At one point, Mr Navin shouted a Tamil vulgarity at Saravanan, meaning that he should keep quiet, and told his uncle to drop Saravanan off immediately.

This upset Saravanan, who grabbed the antlers from the dashboard and stabbed the younger man in the back with it. Sivakumar began shouting and said he was crazy.

The deadly weapon measured almost 50cm in height and 40cm in length. No further details were provided in court documents, but it is believed that the antlers were a decorative feature on the dashboard.

Saravanan Arimuram used antlers sitting on the prime mover's dashboard as a weapon, Court documents did not specify if the antlers were real or artificial. Photo: Livin4wheel/Unsplash

Almost immediately after the assault, the prime mover mounted the kerb, made a sharp turn across two lanes, mounted the kerb again and climbed the embankment slope of the Teban Flyover before toppling on its side.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Han Ming Kuang told the court: “In the process, the antlers which the accused was holding on to was swung towards (Sivakumar’s) face. As a result, a branch of the antlers broke off and was embedded in (Sivakumar’s) left eye.”

A passerby called the police upon witnessing the accident. Singapore Civil Defence Force officers went to the scene and found Sivakumar unconscious.

“He had sustained enucleation (removal) of the left eye and a part of the antlers that had broken off had impaled his left eye socket,” DPP Han added.

A pathologist found that the fatal injury was caused by a “strong sharp-tipped or pointed conical object”. The antlers had pierced Sivakumar’s skull and brain.

Mr Navin sustained a wound on his back and trauma in his ear. He was discharged three days later and given about two weeks of hospitalisation leave.

After Sivakumar’s death, about 220 milligrams of alcohol was found per 100 millilitres of his blood. The legal alcohol limit for driving is 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres.

Saravanan had about 132 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.