Man found guilty of choking NEA officer who saw him throw cigarette butt into drain
Kappagantula Srikanth was spotted by an NEA officer throwing a cigarette butt into a drain. During a five-day trial, he denied assaulting the NEA officer, but the judge rejected his evidence.
SINGAPORE — After spotting Kappagantula Srikanth throwing his cigarette butt into a roadside drain, an auxiliary police officer with the National Environment Agency (NEA) told him he had littered, then asked for his particulars.
But Srikanth, 42, walked away and ignored the officer’s repeated requests to stop. He also warned the officer, Mr Kenny Chee, not to touch him or he would “lose his cool”.
A while later, Srikanth did lose his cool. He pushed Mr Chee on the chest before choking him by the neck with his hand such that the officer could not breathe.
Srikanth contested two charges of causing hurt to the officer and using criminal force on him. During the five-day trial, he claimed among other things that their height difference meant he would not have been able to choke Mr Chee, and that the officer attacked him first. He called a witness to back his version of events.
District Judge Edgar Foo rejected his defence and convicted him of the two charges on Thursday (Sept 12).
Srikanth, a Singapore permanent resident, will return to court to be sentenced on Nov 4. He remains out on bail of S$5,000.
VICTIM SAID HE WAS UNABLE TO BREATHE
The incident happened on March 31, 2017 when Mr Chee was on duty at Syed Alwi Road in the Jalan Besar area. Two other NEA officers were around as well.
The prosecution called the trio to the witness stand during the trial.
Mr Chee gave evidence that he saw Srikanth throwing the cigarette butt into the drain outside a restaurant. Mr Chee then identified himself as an NEA officer, told him he had committed a littering offence and asked for his details.
Srikanth told him he wanted to get his bag from the restaurant. While he was inside, Mr Chee went to help his colleague with another offender.
He noticed Srikanth coming back out and told him repeatedly to stop. When that did not work, Mr Chee stood in front of him and put his hand out as a signal to stop.
Srikanth, however, continued walking and hit Mr Chee’s palm. He warned the officer not to touch him and pushed Mr Chee three times on the chest with both hands.
Mr Chee testified that Srikanth tried to walk away again, but Mr Chee grabbed him by the wrist and said he was going to call the police.
Srikanth tried to forcefully loosen Mr Chee’s grip, giving the officer a cut on his wrist.
After Mr Chee let him go, he sat on a chair and said he would wait for the police to arrive, but tried to walk away again before Mr Chee had a chance to call the authorities. Mr Chee then stood in front of Srikanth to prevent him from leaving.
It was then that Srikanth choked the officer by the neck with his right hand, Mr Chee said in his evidence.
“The victim further testified that the accused had tightened his grip while choking him and pushed his Adam’s apple, causing him to feel pain and to be unable to breathe. The victim explained that his Adam’s apple felt numb and 'stuck' when he tried to swallow his saliva,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim said.
The other two officers testified in court that they also saw this happening, with one saying that Srikanth appeared angry.
For causing hurt to deter a public servant from carrying out his duty, Srikanth could be jailed for up to seven years or fined or caned, or any combination of the three.
For using criminal force to deter a public servant from his duty, he could be jailed for up to four years or fined, or both.
