SINGAPORE — A 23-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail for his involvement in the Little India riot on Dec 8 last year.

Construction worker Singaravelu Vignesh was originally accused of rioting, but he pleaded guilty on Monday to an amended charge of “continuing in an assembly after it had been ordered to disperse”.

He is the second of 25 Indian nationals originally accused of rioting to be sentenced.

In sentencing, Deputy Chief District Judge S Jennifer Marie said Singaravelu’s circumstance was no different from that of Chinnappa Vijayaragunatha Poopathi, who was the first to be sentenced last week.

Chinnappa was also sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail, after pleading guilty to the charge of failing to disperse despite orders from the riot police.

Singaravelu’s sentence will take effect from his date of arrest on Dec 8. He could have been jailed for up to two years and fined for failing to disperse. The maximum penalty for rioting is a seven-year jail term and caning.

The Dec 8 riot was the first in Singapore in more than four decades. It involved 400 foreign nationals and left 43 enforcement officers injured. Twenty-four emergency vehicles were also damaged, including five that were set on fire. CLAIRE HUANG