SINGAPORE: After being “intercepted” by police officers who tailed him into a condo unit where suspects in an e-mail fraud syndicate were, officers were forced to search for him. The man had been moving goods for an encounter for free.
On Thursday ( Nov. 9 ), Mr. Loh Zheng Zhen, now 22 years old, testified in court about his shock and surprise when his acquaintance lunged at the police. The ensuing altercations led to a police officer drawing his handgun and shooting the alleged aggressor.
Mr. Loh was testifying on behalf of the trial against Prakash Mathivanan, a 39-year-old police officer who was shot in the abdomen.
Prakash, who has since made a full recovery, is currently facing claims of intentionally inflicting harm on someone to prevent them from performing their duties. During the assault, he reportedly hurt two police officers.
Prakash had been charged with a number of crimes, including fraud, drug-related offenses, and has been given prison terms for the majority of them.
His most recent prison sentence, which was five years and two months , was handed down on Wednesday for charges that included planning a scheme to defraud Singtel of S$ 76, 666 ( US$ 56, 600 ) worth of smartphones. This was accomplished by posing as individuals whose personal information he had gleaned from the gloomy web.
WITNESS Confesses ABOUT THE POLICE’S INTERCEPTION OF HIM
Mr. Loh revealed to the court that he first met Prakash through Nikhil M. Durgude, a poly friend.
According to Mr. Loh, Nikhil contacted him on November 4, 2020, and requested his assistance in moving a sister’s belongings to an house in Balestier.
Prakash turned out to be this companion.
Mr. Loh claimed to have received S$ 100 in exchange for his assistance, so the following day he went to Prakash’s house with his girlfriend to pack clothing into bags and luggage for the new residence at City Suites property.
Mr. Loh claimed to have packed everything and was about to travel to the City Villas condo when he was stopped by the police.
When a police ( officer ) ran up to my car as I was walking towards it, Mr. Loh said,” I wanted to drive the car closer to the lift lobby so we could easily load the luggage and bags.”
He claimed that after identifying themselves, the authorities ordered him to prevent what he was doing. They asked if they recognized him after showing him what appeared to be a mugshot, but Mr. Loh replied that he did not.
The police asked to follow him to the Balestier apartments after he responded to their inquiries.
Therefore, Mr. Loh was driven to City Apartments in his car by one of the officers, followed by another police car.
The officers gave Mr. Loh the go-ahead to text Nikhil and request that he come to the parking lot to assist in moving the bags away.
Nikhil, but, instructed Mr. Loh to put the bags away and simply go home to speak.
The police subsequently issued Mr. Loh with additional directives.
” They did n’t go over what they were going to do with me; instead, they simply gave me instructions. They did n’t specify the entire concept or the strategy, according to Mr. Loh.
Mr. Loh went to the secret raise lobby that had a camera-operated intercom on the police’s orders.  ,
He was posing as his partner while being photographed alongside a female police officer. Two female police officers, one wearing blue and the other red, crouched in the camera’s blind area to avoid being seen.
Mr. Loh buzzed up to the apartments device, was let in, and the three police officers followed him into the elevator.
According to Mr. Loh, there were other soldiers who did not accompany them into the elevator.
Mr. Loh was instructed by the police officers to wait outside the raise when it reached the 12th ground before knocking on the door.
However, he heard the suspects ‘ unit’s main entrance being unlocked when the lift doors opened.
He moved instantly in the direction of the product and opened the door, which was already significantly open.
RUSH IN POLICE OFFICERS
The three officers soldiers “quickly flushed from behind me and entered the product,” Mr. Loh said.
Nikhil, Prakash, and a woman were seated on the seat in the living room, according to Mr. Loh, who claimed to have seen them once inside the unit.
After entering the bedroom, the female police agent remained inside. According to Mr. Loh, the two female officers shouted that they were officers as they made their way to the living room.
He claimed that the soldiers instructed the group to leave the seat and kneel in the living room.
The group complied, and Mr. Loh claimed to have overheard Nikhil and Prakash muttering to one another. Senior Staff Sergeant ( SSSgt ) Chua Ming Cheng, the male officer in blue, yelled at them and commanded them to remain silent.
Mr. Loh claimed to have seen Prakash instantly swing at SSSgt Chua, who was standing in front of him, and get hold of his upper chest.
They started fighting.
It initially caught me off guard, said Mr. Loh. ” I was shocked because I did n’t anticipate something like this to occur, and I believed the police were already in control of the situation.”
He claimed to have been startled when he saw Prakash swing at the policeman.
Mr. Loh said,” I do n’t like to see violence, or when people fight, so when I saw him attack the police officer, I was very shocked at what was happening in front of me.”
Inspector Zheng Yiyang, the other pink-clad male officer, then requested that Prakash step backwards, according to Mr. Loh.
Official Takes A GUN OUT.
He claimed to have seen Insp Zheng removing what appeared to be a weapon from his neck.
There was a crimson beam or red laser dot in the living room, and he had both hands over direct. Mr. Loh said.
He claimed that Prakash and SSSgt Chua were still fighting in the living room in front of the TV system.
Mr. Loh claimed to have seen Prakash change and command the official holding the gun amid the yelling.
Mr. Loh remarked,” The next thing I knew, a shot ( was ) fired inside the apartment, right beside me.”
I was so terrified at that point that all I could think about was wanting to leave the room, so I definitely tucked myself into the part.
He claimed to have seen Prakash already on the pink-shirted official and that they were lying down.
He continued by saying that he was able to leave the device by exerting all of his power to move on the principal door handle, which Prakash and the officer in red were blocking.
According to Mr. Loh,” I was squatting outside the apartment when I heard a man writhing in pain from in.”
” I heard there were sounds and footsteps coming from the stairwell to my straight, in the hall.”
He claimed to have gone to look and discovered police officers he had earlier seen inside hiding behind a one-way entry in the staircase.
According to Mr. Loh,” They were attempting to open the staircase door but were unsuccessful, so I made the decision to push the door opened for them.”
He claimed that as he sat around, listening to a person writhe in agony inside the apartment, two police officers entered the vehicle.
He claimed that when Prakash first attacked the blue-shirted officer, he was now terrified, believing that the officer might be in risk as well.
” After, he charged at the next commander, which made me even more terrified, so I really wanted to leave the area, like my fight or flight instinct told me to leave the product,” Mr. Loh said.
He claimed to have seen the blue-shirted agent, one of the first to leave the system, after that. According to Mr. Loh, he was bleeding from his nose and had body running down his face.
Mr. Jonathan Phipps of LegalStandard represented Prakash.
Cross-examination through defense
Inquiring as to whether he overheard any police officers using vulgar language, Mr. Phipps questioned Mrs. Loh about his type of what had happened.
Mr. Loh claimed he could never remember.
The red and blue-shirted officials had not identified themselves as police when they entered the apartment, according to Mr. Phipps, who informed Mr Loh of this. Mr. Loh was against it.
Mr. Phipps remarked,” I put it to you that Prakash lunged at the police agent because he did not know that the blue-trousered person was a law enforcement officer at that time.”
Mr. Loh claimed he had no idea if Prakash was aware or no.
The witness was even questioned by Mr. Phipps regarding the sequence of events, including when Prakash made contact with the commander in pink and when the unit’s lights and gun went off.
Nikhil had previously claimed that the officers had turned off the light and argued with his companion before shooting when he was charged in 2020.
Daphne Lim and J Jayaletchmi, Deputy Public Prosecution for the state, are also present in the test before District Judge Wong Peck.
Singh was been sentenced to seven years in prison, fined, or caned if found guilty of intentionally harming a common servant in order to prevent them from performing their work.
Nikhil was given a nine-year, 18-month prison term and fined S$ 4, 000 in July for offenses ranging from pharmaceutical crimes to causing harm to dissuade an official from performing his work.