Indian jailed for 2 weeks in Singapore dormitory rioting case

, April 15: An Indian, part of 17 men allegedly involved in rioting at a Singapore dormitory, was today jailed for two weeks for attacking on a Bangladeshi fellow worker during a live screening of a T-20 World Cup cricket match.

Dharmaraj Ramesh, 25, was convicted of throwing an empty beer can on Ahsan Habib Md Fazlan Rahman, a Bangladeshi national, on the night of March 5, after the accused pleaded guilty to an amended charge of using criminal force.

The construction worker admitted to throwing the can in the Bangladeshi worker's direction at a Kaki Bukit dormitory after he became irritated by the noise Fazlan and his friends were allegedly making while watching the match on TV between Bangladesh and West Indies at the canteen, The Straits Times reported.

The ensuing confrontation between the two men later resulted in a large-scale fight at a nearby carpark. Dharmaraj was among three Indians and 14 Bangladeshis charged with rioting and the first accused to plead guilty. District Judge Lee Poh Choo, while sentencing Dharmaraj to two weeks's imprisonment, stressed that "a signal must be sent to foreign workers living in dormitories" in Singapore.

She said this is especially so, when they come from different countries and "must live harmoniously" together, adding that the thuggish behaviour in dormitories was unacceptable. Dharmaraj is the first of 17 men implicated in the case to be convicted and sentenced.

One of the 17 men has been discharged, leaving the cases of 15 accused to be heard, the Channel News Asia reported.

PTI