SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to a year and a week's jail on Friday (Feb 21) for a string of offences including throwing another man into a trash bin.

Vikneswaran Gunasakaran, 28, was given the term for five charges including voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the man in the bin, as well as voluntarily causing hurt and theft.



The court heard that Vikneswaran, who was jobless, went to a void deck in Ang Mo Kio on Jun 10 last year to help his friend, the 24-year-old co-accused Haravind Paranthaman.

Haravind had been drinking at Block 469 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 with a group of friends, including the 22-year-old victim.

He felt the victim was arrogant and called Vikneswaran. When his friend arrived, Haravind told Vikneswaran he had a problem with the victim and "wanted to whack him", said Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Zhi Hao.

Both the men then punched and kicked the victim, with Haravind slamming the victim's face against a table.



The victim tried to escape, but Vikneswaran grabbed him by the neck and forced him to sit on a bench. He also kicked his chest when the victim tried to stand up.

Vikneswaran and Haravind then carried the victim to a nearby trash bin and threw him inside before fleeing the scene.

A 67-year-old man called the police later, saying some men wanted to fight him.

The victim was taken to hospital with a minor head injury and a fractured nose, and was given three days' hospitalisation leave.

In the months after this incident, Vikneswaran continued committing offences.

He punched a man in a group scuffle in August 2019, retrieving a gold necklace from the victim and pawning it off for S$300.

He punched the face of a woman who was scuffling with his girlfriend a month later.

The following month, he came across a sleeping man in Ang Mo Kio and retrieved a pair of scissors from a nearby hawker centre. He then cut a lanyard the man was wearing around his neck and cut his pants pocket, before stealing his wallet, which had S$600 in it.

The prosecutor had sought jail of at least a year and three weeks, saying Vikneswaran had previous convictions for causing hurt.

His co-accused Haravind is set to return to court on Mar 2. Other than the similar charge he shares with Vikneswaran, he is accused of fighting with construction workers in April 2019 and appearing nude in a public place in December 2018.

According to the prosecutor's notes at a hearing earlier this month, Haravind had an accident on Jun 29, 2019, and suffered severe head injuries with bleeding in the skull and multiple skull fractures.

The prosecutor had asked for an adjournment then to check if he is fit to plead in court.