A 27-year-old Indian was today jailed for five months in Singapore for obstructing a policeman during the Little India riot last December, the city-state's worst street violence in 40 years.
Mahalingam Thavamani was found guilty of obstructing Deputy Superintendent of Police, N Subramaniam, from dispersing the crowd near the scene of the riot.
Thavamani could have been jailed up to eight years and fined for the charge, The Strait Times reported.
He was the first among 25 charged for their roles in the riot to claim trial, and the first in Singapore to be convicted for obstruction.
The riot was sparked on December 8 night by a fatal accident involving a bus and an Indian national who was working in Singapore.
Some 400 migrant workers were at the scene of the riot during which 23 emergency vehicles were damaged and 54 police officers injured.
Twenty-five Indian nationals, working in Singapore on permits, were charged for rioting.
