Two jailed for roles in violent attacks

The two males were asleep in a room in a Bishan flat when their slumber was violently interrupted as three men attacked them.

Sean Lavin Emile, 17, and Mr Joshua Navindran Surainthiran, 22, were left bloodied in the brutal knife attack.

Sean was stabbed in the left thigh and cut on his face, right arm and left finger. Mr Joshua was punched and his hands were slashed.

Sean's father had let the men into the flat without realising their intentions.

Some time after 3pm on Nov 18, 2014, Mr Lawrence Emile Charles allowed the trio into his Bishan Street 12 flat. Mr Joshua was then staying with Sean.

The attackers had gone looking for Mr Joshua over a dispute when the attack took place.

Yesterday, one of the attackers, Jai Ganesh Tanapolan, 25, got a total of five years in jail and six strokes of the cane for voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon in the Bishan attack and for two separate rioting offences.

One attack with a rival gang took place at a club in Liang Court Shopping Centre on Oct 22, 2014, while the other occurred on March 21 last year near Rendezvous Hotel in Bras Basah Road.

In sentencing Jai, District Judge Crystal Ong, said that "(Jai's) propensity for violence is clear".

In the Nov 18 case, Sean was jolted awake when he was punched in the face.

Jai then cut the teen's face with a 10cm-long knife.

Sean was later stabbed by another attacker.

Jai also punched Mr Joshua in the face and slashed his hands. When Jai tried to stab Mr Joshua, he was stopped by one of the other attackers. But Jai later kicked Mr Joshua.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Marshall Lim had recommended a total sentence of at least five years' jail for Jai, given his history of violent acts.

DPP Lim said Jai had attacked the victims while they were completely vulnerable.

When this reporter visited Sean's flat in Bishan yesterday afternoon, his father, Mr Charles, declined to comment.

Jai was not the only one in the dock yesterday. One of his accomplices in one of the rioting cases, Dinesh Kumar Ruvy, 25, was sentenced to 4½ years in jail yesterday and was also given six strokes of the cane for rioting with a dangerous weapon.

AMBUSH

On March 21, last year, Dinesh, Jai and four others had ambushed Mr Logesvaren Subramaniam, 28 and Mr Sashi Kumar Asogan, 29, as they were about to enter a taxi outside Rendezvous Hotel just after 3.40am.

One of Mr Logesvaren's friends had earlier told them that he had been punched inside the hotel's Checkmate Club.

The matter appeared to have been resolved when bouncers intervened.

But Jai's group was merely lying in wait. The six attackers charged at the pair, kicking and punching them near a taxi stand.

During the attack, Dinesh retrieved a chopper from the waistband of his jeans and slashed Mr Logesvaren's left forearm, causing him to bleed profusely.

A medical report said that Mr Logesvaren had suffered a deep cut. The tendons, arteries and nerves in his left forearm were also cut.

Both Dinesh and Jai were represented by Mr Ramesh Tiwary.

In mitigation, the lawyer said that Dinesh, who is married and has a three-year-old child, "realises his mistake and has pleaded guilty the moment the charge was amended".

For Jai, who has been in remand since March 23 last year, Mr Tiwary urged the judge to "keep the total sentence in mind... So that he would not be faced with a crushing sentence".

Mr Tiwary said: "He does want to put all this behind him and start afresh."

THE NEW PAPER, MARCH 19, 2015