• Kandasamy Senapathi faces five counts each of criminal breach of trust as a servant and of transferring some of the cash out of Singapore 
• He came under police investigations after a report was made in August 2020
• Kandasamy is accused of pocketing 172 pieces of jewellery from 2016 to 2020

SINGAPORE — Over four years, he allegedly misappropriated 172 pieces of jewellery from Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple, later pawning them for more than S$2 million.

Kandasamy Senapathi, the former chief priest of the 149-year-old Sri Mariamman Temple, was charged on Tuesday (Feb 16) over these acts. 

The 37-year-old Indian national faces five counts each of criminal breach of trust as a servant and of transferring some of the cash out of Singapore to India.

The gold ornaments, frequently used for prayers and kept by Kandasamy in the temple’s inner sanctum, had gone missing, TODAY reported in August last year. 

“The chief priest was questioned, and he subsequently returned all missing gold ornaments. Further checks by the Temple Committee confirmed that all gold ornaments were fully accounted for,” the temple had said in a statement then. 

Kandasamy was investigated by the police after the temple filed a report that month.

He is accused of misappropriating the jewellery from the temple along South Bridge Road in Chinatown between March 10, 2016 and June 30 last year. He allegedly pawned all of them for about S$2.3 million.

He also purportedly remitted about S$140,000 in cash from his POSB bank account to accounts in India over the four years.

The court heard that he purportedly took the jewellery when he needed money, pawned them off, redeemed them again when he had enough money to do so, then returned the jewellery to the temple.

In response to TODAY’s queries, a spokesperson for the Hindu Endowments Board said that Kandasamy was fired as soon as the temple discovered the jewellery had gone missing. “We are unable to comment further as the matter is before the courts." 

Kandasamy’s lawyer Mohan Das Naidu told the court that his client would have trouble posting bail as he was a foreigner. The lawyer asked for bail to be set at S$80,000.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Janice See, who sought a higher bail quantum of S$150,000, argued that Kandasamy poses a likely flight risk, because he has no community or familial ties to Singapore.

Responding to Mr Mohan’s argument that Kandasamy has since returned all the jewellery to the temple, she said that was not the issue at hand.

“It is the fact that the jewellery was pawned by the accused and the value obtained was a significant sum,” DPP See said, who added that the pawned amount and the money remitted out of Singapore have not been recovered.

Responding, Mr Mohan said that the remitted cash was part of the proceeds from pawning the jewellery. The temple did not suffer any loss and Kandasamy handed over the interest payable to the pawnshops.

“He himself owned up to this matter before the police could come to see him,” the lawyer added.

When District Judge Terence Tay asked why Kandasamy did so, Mr Mohan replied: “I think it was because of the Covid-19 situation; he could not get enough funds to redeem (the jewellery) in time for ceremonies to take place (at the temple).”

District Judge Tay ultimately imposed bail of S$100,000. He noted that Kandasamy was accused of “very serious offences while holding a position of trust” but that he had returned the jewellery.

Kandasamy was remanded in custody on Tuesday and will return to court on March 15.

If convicted of criminal breach of trust as a servant, he could be jailed up to 15 years and fined.

If convicted of transferring cash obtained via criminal means out of Singapore under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, he could be jailed up to 10 years or fined up to S$500,000, or both.