SINGAPORE: A chief warder at Changi Prison was being escorted back to his body when an con undergoing drug rehab punched him, breaking a facial bone.
On Monday, October 9, Kaliappan Kumarasamy, 51, was given a three-year prison term after admitting guilt to one matter of intentionally harming an employee.
The victim, a 41-year-old agent with the Singapore Prison Service for 19 years, was revealed to the court.
He served as the Cluster B Institution B5 Chief Warder at Changi Prison.
The prey was on duty at Institution B5 on the morning of December 21 of last year. Kaliappan was one of the prisoners who had been allowed to leave their cells so they could receive treatment.
The victim and his brother officers led the prisoners up to their cells at around 9 a.m. & nbsp,
The target approached Kaliappan, and the two of them continued to converse usually as they walked down the hallway to his body, according to the attorney.
The victim made a polite gesture by touching Kaliappan’s top arm as they walked and conversed.
A split second later, Kaliappan violently punched the victim in the face. The target collapsed to the floor.
Kaliappan stood in front of the officer as he was getting up and threw another bite, but it missed.
The sufferer soon activated his conversation system and called for help after realizing he was bleeding from his nose and mouth.
Additional soldiers in the area rushed over right away to assist him. Kaliappan kept adopting a combative position and raising both hands.
Just after one of the soldiers used pepper spray did a group of them manage to subdue him.
The target visited the hospital and was granted a seven-day hospitalization leave. As of March of this year, he had a physical tooth fracture and was still experiencing left physical numbness.
Kaliappan acknowledged assaulting the victim, claiming that he was upset about a distinct argument with another prisoner and an internal investigation that had been conducted against him.
Kaliappan, who had numerous prior convictions dating back to 1986 for offenses like extortion, drug use, desertion, and failing to report for a urine test, was sought three years in prison by the prosecutor.
The only significant sentence, however, came in 2018, when he was found guilty of two matters of deliberately inflicting harm and required to go through mandatory treatment.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew, Kaliappan’s crime carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison along with an additional fine or punishment.
He added that protecting line law enforcement officers is of utmost public interest and that the higher prescribed punishment reflects the severity of the offense.
This offense against a prison officer took place inside the prison, and for behavior needs to be discouraged, according to Mr. Chew. Inmates have been informed that they should not also consider touching any prison officers.
He continued by saying that if Kaliappan hadn’t been his years, he may have requested punishment.
The unrepresented Kaliappan begged for mercy in moderation, saying he was” suffering a significant here” and” very, very sorry.” At various points during the hearing, he reacted angrily and physically, and it wasn’t until the judge gave him a firm warning that things started to calm down.
” How far I’ve been suffering, only God will hear.” Every morning, I have been praying. I’m honest about all of my errors. I simply want to leave jail and make a difference in my life. Since my mother passed away in 2021, I’ve been feeling extremely depressed. Through an interpreter, he said,” I don’t want to die in prison.”
Officials must be able to carry out their duties freely, District Judge Sharmila Sripathy noted. She claimed that this was an unprovoked act of unwarranted violence.
According to the judge, Kaliappan’s anger toward the sufferer may be inferred from the fact that he was subdued using pepper spray and a number of officers.