Rushing down to 116 Ho Ching Road to respond to a call for assistance, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers arrived to find two men, one of whom was sitting on a stone chair and complaining of pain in his leg.
The man in pain, Mr Santharasagara Channagan, had asked if he could be conveyed to hospital together with his wheelchair. But when the SCDF officers informed him that the ambulance could not carry wheelchairs safely, his friend, Govindasami, flared up and hurled abusive words at all three of them — an act that landed the 55-year-old five weeks in jail on Wednesday (June 29).
The incident took place on May 27 this year, at around 8.45pm.
Govindasami, who goes by one name, had called the SCDF for help, and had sat nearby drinking rice wine as they attended to his friend.
But upon hearing that the ambulance could not take the wheelchair, he interrupted the conversation and was visibly unhappy. He scolded the trio in a mix of English, Malay and Hokkien vulgarities, and they decided to call the police.
When the police arrived around 9pm, Staff Sergeant Lye Jiawei started interviewing Govindasami. “(He) started to turn aggressive and pushed (SS Lye’s) hand away,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kong Kuek Foo.
The police officer then placed Govindasami under arrest and brought him to Jurong Division Headquarters. Along the way, Govindasami continued to swear repeatedly at the officer.
He faced five charges of verbally abusing a public servant under the Protection from Harassment Act, but only two were proceeded with.
DPP Kong pointed out that Govindasami had a colourful history of disorderly behaviour, mischief and theft in dwelling, dating back to three decades ago. In 2010, he was charged with spewing threatening or abusive words at a public servant, and in 2013, he was charged with hurting a public servant to deter him or her from duty.
Appearing in court unrepresented, Govindasami pleaded for the minimum sentence. Speaking through a translator, he told District Judge Jasvender Kaur that he was taking medication for alcoholism and voices in his head.
“I wish to be sent to a halfway house after my sentence, to withdraw from the alcohol addiction,” he said.
The judge said that she would call for a Community Court Conference to be held to assess if a halfway house was appropriate for him, after the prison term has been served.
Source: TODAY Online
