Jail for man who drunkenly assaulted two seniors, verbally abused policeman while out on bail
Sanjeevan Maha Lingam was sentenced on April 28, 2020, to one year, four months and four weeks behind bars.
SINGAPORE — He assaulted two elderly men in separate incidents while drunk, landing one of them in hospital for 11 days.
Sometime after the assaults, Sanjeevan Maha Lingam, 41, went to a York Hill flat in Tiong Bahru armed with a saw.
He was later arrested and taken to the Police Cantonment Complex on New Bridge Road. There, he told a police officer: “I will see how long you wear your uniform; you will still have to come to York Hill. I will harm you there. You watch out.”
On Tuesday (April 28), Sanjeevan, a Singaporean, was sentenced in court to one year, four months and four weeks behind bars.
He pleaded guilty to five charges, including theft, causing grievous hurt and using abusive words on a public servant. Seven other similar charges were considered for sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Melina Chew revealed that he had been jailed or fined for numerous offences before, such as fighting in public and drink-driving.
Most recently, he was sentenced last year to more than five months’ jail for theft and causing hurt.
The court heard that on April 3 last year, Sanjeevan began drinking alcohol with his fiancee and uncle at 11am near Block 2 Jalan Kukoh in Tiong Bahru.
The couple then began walking back to his home nearby at about 2pm. When they chanced on a 69-year-old man at a void deck of a housing block, Sanjeevan approached him and asked if he knew who his fiancee was.
When the man replied that he did not, Sanjeevan immediately punched the man's face and head, claiming that he bore a grudge against the man as he suspected that the man was causing problems for his fiancee.
The victim bled from the assault, but did not retaliate.
Several passers-by tried to intervene when they noticed the victim in a disoriented and shocked state. Sanjeevan continued being aggressive until police officers arrived and subdued him.
The injured man was taken to the Singapore General Hospital, where he was hospitalised for 11 days and given a month of hospitalisation leave. He suffered facial fractures and soft tissue injuries.
An analyst from the Health Sciences Authority found that Sanjeevan had 182mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal alcohol limit for driving is 80mg per 100ml.
REOFFENDED FOUR TIMES WHILE OUT ON BAIL
Two months later, Sanjeevan struck again while out on bail for his previous offence.
On June 3 last year, he was drinking again with several friends when he began arguing with his fiancee at the void deck of a block of flats at York Hill.
Around 6am, they bumped into an 85-year-old man, who lived in the neighbourhood and was going for his daily morning walk.
Aware that the man and his fiancee were on friendly terms, Sanjeevan decided to confront him about this. He claimed that the other man frequently caused problems for him and his fiancee.
During the heated confrontation, Sanjeevan pushed the 85-year-old to the ground and repeatedly punched his face and head, ignoring the man’s pleas for him to stop.
Sanjeevan’s fiancee called the police and the victim was taken to hospital, where he remained for five days. The assault left him with a broken nose and teeth.
Sanjeevan was released on bail again, but committed more offences over the next month.
On the afternoon of June 24 last year, he was arrested after he arrived drunk at a York Hill flat with a saw. He claimed to have shared two bottles of whiskey earlier with some friends.
He continued being aggressive after he was taken to the lock-up at the Police Cantonment Complex.
When a police officer warned Sanjeevan to stop making threats, he threatened to harm the officer before hurling insults such as “your wife will sleep around in the streets”.
Four days later, while out on bail again, two police officers spotted him at a playground at Block 9 Jalan Kukoh.
He reeked of alcohol and carried a rusty saw with a 65cm blade. He told the officers that he had found it at a nearby tree.
Finally, in the wee hours of July 28 last year, he stole several items from a drunken man who had fallen asleep near a kindergarten at Block 54 Chin Swee Road near Tiong Bahru. The stolen items included a mobile phone, a bottle of alcohol and S$70.
He admitted to using the cash for his own expenses and claimed that he had discarded the alcohol.
He was arrested and has been in remand since Aug 1 last year.
