Jail and fine for repeat offender who verbally abused public service workers
A man who was sentenced to three weeks' jail last April after he verbally abused a public servant continued committing similar offences just months later following his release.
On three separate occasions between September and November last year, Chandrasegaran Raman yelled vulgarities at an auxiliary police officer, a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) sergeant and an SBS Transit station master. He also hurled a racial slur at the sergeant.
The 54-year-old Singaporean was on Monday (Jan 24) sentenced to 12 weeks' jail and a fine of $2,000. He pleaded guilty to six charges for offences including three counts of harassment.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gabriel Choong said Chandrasegaran was drunk on July 2 last year when he went to a Rowell Road restaurant in Little India and started shouting incoherently at its customers.
An employee alerted the police and officers asked Chandrasegaran to leave the area. But he lay down on a pavement beside the eatery and was arrested.
He was out on bail on Aug 22 last year when he was seen wearing a mask below his chin while boarding bus service 21. He complied when the driver asked him to don it properly.
The DPP said: "The accused then began speaking incoherently to the victim. The victim attempted to converse with him, but subsequently decided to call the SBS Transit Control Centre for assistance, which in turn called the police.
"The victim asked the remaining passengers to alight from the bus, leaving him and the accused alone... The accused again pulled his mask below his chin and continued speaking incoherently with the victim, but the victim ignored him."
Chandrasegaran got off the bus about 10 minutes later.
Court documents do not state what happened next and he was consuming beer alone last September when he developed chest pains.
An ambulance took him to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) where he became uncooperative with staff and repeatedly asked them to release him so he could go for a smoke. They allowed him to leave at around 2am.
An auxiliary police officer was escorting him to a drop-off point when Chandrasegaran accused the man of insulting his mother and abused him with vulgar language.
Chandrasegaran was drunk on Oct 31 last year when he went to a police post in Jalan Bukit Merah and complained of chest pains.
An SCDF sergeant arrived at around 11pm and Chandrasegaran insisted on going to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) even though SGH was nearer.
He abused the officer with vulgar language and uttered a racial insult before leaving for TTSH on his own.
Two days later, an intoxicated Chandrasegaran approached a station master at Farrer Park MRT station and claimed that he had misplaced his mobile phone in a taxi.
DPP Choong told the court: "The accused was unable to describe the taxi and insisted that the victim call the investigation officer in charge of the accused's earlier offences. The victim suggested that he go to a police station."
Unhappy, Chandrasegaran scolded the man and directed an obscene word at him.
The victim alerted the police and Chandrasegaran was charged in court later.
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