Published 07:24 IST, September 27th 2019
Indian-origin man in Singapore jailed for petrol station robbery
An Indian-origin man in Singapore was jailed for 11.5 years after being convicted of robbery at a petrol station and admitting to drug consumption & possession
Advertisement
An Indian-origin man in Singapore was jailed for 11.5 years after being convicted of robbery at a petrol station and mitting to drug consumption and possession, a media report said Friday. Visvanathan Vivelu, 50, h pleed guilty to committing armed robbery at a Shell petrol station in Upper Bukit Timah Ro in 2017, reported Straits Times.
He h also mitted to two counts of drug consumption and one count of drug possession. Visvanathan, who was unrepresented, told District Judge Kan Shuk Weng on Thursday that he was "mentally unwell" and that he fled from court on September 17 after he "heard voices" telling him to go home. He ded that his mor later alerted police, who arrested him in ir flat. He was hauled back to court on September 19.
Advertisement
Visvanathan told Judge Kan that he wanted to be "sentenced" to Institute of Mental Health (IMH). She replied that being sent to IMH is t a sentencing option. He robbed a petrol station on July 31, 2017, as he was "desperate for money". He was unemployed at time. He was charged with armed robbery two days later and was out on bail when police rearrested him on September 15, 2017, for suspected drug-related offences.
Advertisement
He h a packet of powdery substance which was later found to contain diamorphine or pure heroin. His urine samples also showed traces of drug as well as methamphetamine, commonly kwn as Ice. He appeared in court on September 17 this year for his sentencing before absconding that day. Judge Kan n issued a warrant of arrest against him. Offenders convicted of armed robbery can be jailed for up to 10 years and given at least 12 strokes of cane. Those over 50 years old cant be caned.
Advertisement
Ar Indian origin man jailed in Singapore
Just a week ago, in an unrelated incident, ar Indian origin man was jailed in Singapore. 37-year-old Indian man was sentenced to eight weeks of jail in Singapore, September 23, for bribing a compatriot worker at Changi Airport to underreport weight of passenger bags with gold in it for sale in India, is fourth such case this year, according to a media report. Gopal Krishna Raju, a manr in a food processing company, gave bribe of at least SGD 800 (USD 581) to Patel Hiteshkumar Chandubhai, who worked as a customer service associate for logistics service provider UBTS at airport, between January and October 2016 to under-report weight of bagg with his gold in it, Straits Times reported. Patel's responsibilities at workplace included assisting passengers at boarding gates and check-in counters for Tigerair flights.
Advertisement
07:05 IST, September 27th 2019