Singapore riots case: 2nd Indian charged for burning property

Singapore: A second Indian has been charged for burning property during Singapore’s worst riot in 40 years in December last year.  Sarangan Kumaran, who was among the 25 accused of rioting, was read the extra charge of “mischief by fire with intent to cause damage” in a pre-trial conference on Wednesday, The Straits Times reported, citing his defence counsel Sujatha Selvakumar. Sarangan, 35, is the second man to be charged for torching of property during the riot which damaged Singapore Dollars 650,000 worth of property. The riot took place on 8 December last year in Singapore’s Little India, a precinct of Indian businesses, eateries and pubs. Some 400 migrant workers from South Asia rioted after an Indian national died in a bus accident. The violence left 49 security personnel injured and 23 emergency vehicles damaged, five of which were burned. Fifty two Indians and a Bangladeshi have been deported for their role in the rioting. Singapore previously witnessed violence of such scale during race riots in 1969. Sarangan, who is married and has three children in India, is in remand. Arumugam Karthik, 24, was the first to be charged on 27 December with setting fire to a police car in addition to throwing pieces of concrete and overturning a police car along with others during the riot. Karthik’s case was also came up on Wednesday. He has not posted a bail of SGD 60,000 which was set last December. Both the cases are set for another pre-trial conference later this month. Under the Singapore law, anyone who commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance with intent to cause damage to any property can face imprisonment of up to seven years and shall also be liable to a fine. Rioting carries a maximum penalty of seven years and caning. Five of the 25 originally accused for rioting have pleaded guilty and were jailed between 15 to 18 weeks last month. Cases against the rest are still pending. PTI