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Man jailed for string of alcohol-fuelled offences, including punching nurse, doctor in hospital

SINGAPORE — A man who was warded in hospital in June last year for alcohol intoxication turned aggressive after his sedative wore off, punching both a nurse and an emergency room doctor who tried to restrain him.

Jaganthiran Rajasegaran was warded at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for intoxication in June 2020 when he assaulted a nurse and a doctor.

Jaganthiran Rajasegaran was warded at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for intoxication in June 2020 when he assaulted a nurse and a doctor.

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  • Jaganthiran Rajasegaran admitted to a slew of offences he committed between 2016 and 2020
  • He swore at a police officer at a coffee shop in 2017.
  • On three occasions, he got into a fight with his brother in a public place
  • He threatened to break a police officer’s face in 2019
  • In 2020, he punched a nurse and a doctor while he was warded for alcohol intoxication

 

SINGAPORE — A man who was warded in hospital in June last year for alcohol intoxication turned aggressive after his sedative wore off, punching both a nurse and an emergency room doctor who tried to restrain him.

Jaganthiran Rajasegaran, who had to be injected with another dose of sedatives to calm him down, admitted on Monday to voluntarily causing hurt as well as a slew of other offences he committed between 2016 and 2020.

He was sentenced to four months and four weeks’ jail for five charges including affray, criminal intimidation and using abusive words on a public servant. Ten other charges were taken into consideration.

Many of the 38-year-old's offences were committed while he was intoxicated with alcohol.

These included three separate incidents of fighting with his brother in a public place, punching a window at his sister’s home in 2017 and threatening to break an officer’s face while being escorted in a police car in 2019.

He also failed to appear in court without a reasonable excuse twice last year while on bail.

PUNCHED NURSE, DOCTOR

On June 27 last year, Jaganthiran was warded at the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for alcohol intoxication.

As he was coughing, an X-ray scan of his chest had to be taken as part of a Covid-19 screening process, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Huo Jiong told the court.

“The accused was compliant when he was first brought to the X-ray facility as he was sedated,” DPP Huo said.

But as the effect of the sedative wore off, Jaganthiran became aggressive.

Hearing the commotion, nurse Ira Syafinaz Ishak, 27, tried to restrain him with her colleagues but got punched in her neck in the process.

Emergency room doctor Leon Tan, 29, went to assist them and told Jaganthiran, who had climbed out of his bed, to lie back down.

But that only agitated Jaganthiran further. After Dr Tan consulted his superior, he told Jaganthiran he was free to leave the hospital.

Jaganthiran then punched Dr Tan in his jaw and said “f*** you”.

Dr Tan restrained Jaganthiran and another doctor injected him with another dose of sedatives.

Ms Ira was later diagnosed with tenderness and bruising of her neck and Dr Tan with tenderness and bruising near his jaw.

FOUGHT BROTHER, SWORE AT POLICE

On June 28, 2018, Jaganthiran got into a fight with his brother Saravanan Rajasegaran, 37, at a corridor of a Housing and Development Board flat in Bukit Batok.

While he was drinking alone along the corridor at about 7am, he heard Saravanan scolding one of their nephews. Jaganthiran then started arguing with his brother, who was also intoxicated.

Their argument escalated into a physical confrontation, with the two of them exchanging punches and scuffling with each other.

By the time other family members separated the two of them, their neighbours had made four calls to the police for assistance. The two of them were subsequently arrested.

Jaganthiran got into another fight outside the flat on the morning of May 1, 2019. When the police arrived, they found him in an intoxicated state and arrested him on suspicion of having consumed drugs as he was behaving aggressively.

While he was in the police car, he shouting “f*** you all” multiple times and hurled abusive words in Tamil towards the officers.

He then told one of the officers in Tamil: “Either Thaipusam or anywhere else if I see you, not in uniform, whether I break your face or not.”

In an earlier incident, close to midnight May 1, 2017, police officers acting on a noise complaint approached a coffee shop Jaganthiran was at with a group of people.

When a police officer asked him for his identity card, he said he did not have it and refused to give the officer his particulars.

As the officer continued to ask for his particulars, Jaganthiran, who had been drinking, became agitated and shouted “f*** you” at the officer.

In court on Monday, Jaganthiran said: “I realise my mistake and wish to be released as soon as possible to care for my elderly mother.”

His jail sentence was backdated to his date of remand on Dec 26 last year.

For using abusive words towards a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to a year or fined S$5,000, or punished with both. The maximum penalty for affray is the same.

For criminal intimidation, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or punished with both. This jail term may extend to seven years or more if the threat was to cause death or grievous hurt.

And for each charge of voluntarily causing hurt, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined S$5,000, or punished with both.

Related topics

intoxication assault court crime

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