SINGAPORE — The first of 17 men embroiled in last month’s Kaki Bukit dormitory riot has been sentenced to two weeks’ jail for using criminal force.

On March 5, at around 11.15pm, Indian national Dharmaraj Ramesh, 25, was drinking beer with four of his friends in a canteen at Homestay Residences on Kaki Bukit Avenue 3. A large group of Bangladeshi workers was watching a cricket match there.

As Ramesh and his friends were leaving the canteen, they walked past the Bangladeshi workers.

The accused became irritated with the noises they were making and threw an empty beer can at Ahsan Habib Md Fazlan Rahman, who was among the group.

That triggered a confrontation, which snowballed into a brawl.

In mitigation, Ramesh told the court through his interpreter that he regretted his actions and pleaded for leniency.

Prosecutor Winston Man said in his submissions it was a minor offence and noted that the accused had been remanded for more than two weeks.

However, District Judge Lee Poh Choo stressed that “a signal must be sent to foreign workers living in dormitories” in Singapore.

She said this was especially so because they had come from different countries and “must live harmoniously” together. Such thuggish behaviour in dormitories was unacceptable, added the judge.

Ramesh is the first of 17 men implicated in the case to be convicted and sentenced.

One of the 17 has been discharged, while the remaining 15 who have been accused will have their cases heard. CLAIRE HUANG