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Little India riot: Court finds last defendant guilty

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IANS Singapore

A Singapore court on Thursday found an Indian national guilty of failing to disperse despite police warning during the 2013 riot in Little India area of this city state, a media report said.

Arun Kaliamurthy, the last of the 25 men charged with rioting, had claimed trial to a single charge of failing to disperse from the scene despite police orders to do so, The Straits Times reported.

Kaliamurthy will be sentenced by District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan on June 2, the report added.

The 29-year-old with master's degree in information systems had "ample opportunity to leave the scene" between 10:42 p.m. and 11:10 p.m., but chose not to do so, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sellakumaran and Assistant Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok told the court.

 

Arun's lawyer Shashi Nathan argued that his client was "merely an innocent bystander" in the riot and urged the judge to impose a fine, or a one-day jail term.

Arun faces up to two years in jail or a fine for not heeding to police orders.

The riots were sparked off after an Indian, Sakthivel Kumaravel, was run over by a bus in Little India. This was the worst outbreak of violence in the country in more than four decades.

A total of 23 emergency vehicles were damaged, more than 50 officers were hurt and 25 people were charged in the riots.

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First Published: May 28 2015 | 10:32 PM IST

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