Little India riot: Second man sentenced for rioting

SINGAPORE — A former construction worker, the second man to plead guilty to rioting during the melee in Little India last December, was this afternoon (May 15) sentenced to 33 months’ jail and three strokes of the cane.

Arumugam Karthik, a 25-year-old Indian national, had thrown projectiles at three police vehicles and one fire engine, and flipped over the three police cars. He also set fire to one of the police vehicles.

The riot, the worst outbreak of violence in Singapore in more than 40 years, was sparked off by a fatal bus accident involving another Indian national, Sakthivel Kumaravelu.

The maximum jail terms for rioting and mischief by fire are seven years each.

The judge sentenced Arumugam to 33 months’ jail and three strokes of the cane for rioting, and 30 months’ jail for mischief by fire. The sentences will run concurrently.

Last week, former construction worker Ramalingam Sakthivel, 33, was sentenced to 30 months in jail and three strokes of the cane for one count of rioting and mischief by fire each.

Six other men initially charged with rioting had earlier pleaded guilty to amended charges of failing to disperse, and were sentenced to between 15 and 18 weeks’ jail each.

The cases against the remaining 17 men are ongoing.