After slashing a newspaper vendor, he evaded the authorities for more than 13 years.

During his time as a fugitive, James Nalla Rajan Naidu Adhiseshan, 58, was still able to get medical treatment.

He did so by using a photocopy of another man's identity card.

By sheer coincidence, he bumped into the man he was impersonating earlier this year and was exposed.

Yesterday, Naidu was jailed 1½ years on two counts of cheating by personation and another count of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon.

The original offence happened on Jan 28, 2006.

At 5.30am, Naidu and the newspaper vendor were at a Depot Road convenience store.

Naidu confronted the man and challenged him to a fight, but the man ignored him and left the store.

Naidu followed and argued with the vendor before taking out a sharp blade and slashing the man's neck before fleeing the scene.

He was arrested, but absconded before he could be charged in court.

Naidu later obtained a copy of another man's NRIC which he used to trick hospitals and a polyclinic into treating him.

The true owner of the NRIC, Chandran Sinathanmby, lost it many years earlier.

Mr Chandran and Naidu were not acquainted and it was not revealed how Naidu was able to get the NRIC.

Using a photocopy of it, he was able to get treatment at Sengkang Polyclinic on Aug 14, 15 and 22 in 2017 after he fell from his bicycle.

In November that year, the battery of Naidu's e-bike caught fire and he was taken to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.

He again used the photocopied NRIC and was warded for a night but left without paying the bills.

On Feb 25 this year, both Naidu and Mr Chandran were at Sengkang General Hospital.

Mr Chandran, who was unaware of the impersonation, spotted Naidu in a wheelchair at the hospital and offered to assist him.

When Naidu's queue number was called, Mr Chandran helped wheel him over to the counter.

When Naidu handed the photocopy over to the staff, Mr Chandran realised it was of his NRIC.

Mr Chandran alerted the staff who called the police. Naidu tried to run away but was detained by hospital security and continued to lie about his identity.

For each charge of cheating by personation, he could have been jailed up to five years, or fined, or both.