SINGAPORE — Even after he was released twice on bail, Murugesan Ragupathiraja continued committing offences.

In April, he rubbed chilli powder in a fellow construction worker’s eyes in order to rob him.

Just two months later, a video of him went viral online. It showed him being tasered by police officers at Everton Park after he charged towards them.

While holding a can of beer, Murugesan repeatedly challenged the officers to “shoot me”, and had to be hit twice with a taser before he was subdued.

For his crimes, the 25-year-old Indian national was sentenced to three years and seven months’ jail and 15 strokes of the cane on Tuesday (Aug 6).

He pleaded guilty to six assorted charges, including vandalism, robbery with common intention and causing hurt to a public servant. Five other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

THE FIRST OFFENCE

The court heard that Murugesan first broke the law on Dec 11 last year.

After drinking with his friend at Tekka Market, they made their way back to their dormitory. As they walked along the corridor outside Park 22 Hotel in Little India, Murugesan pulled a wooden window panel forcefully, causing part of the panel to break off.

He pushed and pulled two more panels, damaging them before walking away.

The hotel’s front desk staff member told the housekeeping manager what had happened. He checked the closed-circuit television footage, then ran over to two police officers patrolling the area when he spotted Murugesan in the vicinity.

The two officers approached Murugesan to interview him, but he denied damaging the panels and refused to provide his particulars.

They took him back to the hotel and Murugesan fell to the ground when an officer pulled him aside. Later, he punched the officer in the face about three times.

Murugesan tried to run away and the officer tried to stop him by hugging him from behind, but he struggled violently.

He slapped another officer in the face three times, before the two policemen managed to restrain and handcuff him.

When the police officers’ superior arrived, Murugesan began shouting loudly at members of the public. He also tried to use his body to knock other officers and spat at those near him.

When he was taken into the police van, he continued to struggle, kick around and spit repeatedly at the officers nearby. He also shouted vulgarities and tried to bite one of their arms.

The officers eventually had to put a face mask on Murugesan to stop him from spitting at them. They then took him to Police Cantonment Complex.

THE SECOND OFFENCE

After Murugesan was released on bail, he re-offended on April 7 this year.

At about 9pm, he and another Indian national, 25-year-old Raman Lakshmanan, went to Kovan MRT Station to rob Mr Ullah Hedayat, a 39-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker. They believed that Mr Ullah was running an unauthorised remittance business and was carrying a lot of cash.

They waited for him at the open-air car park near the MRT station. When Mr Ullah walked past them, Murugesan grabbed him from behind and threw a packet of red chilli powder in his face.

Murugesan rubbed the powder in Mr Ullah’s eyes, while Raman took Mr Ullah’s sling bag containing S$160, a notebook with entries of remittance transactions and a bank card.

The pair then fled the scene. Raman has since absconded from Singapore.

THE THIRD OFFENCE

Finally, while out on bail again, Murugesan began walking around topless in the Chinatown and Everton Park area on June 9 after drinking that morning. He was in Singapore on a Special Pass then.

Along Duxton Plain Park, he kicked a dustbin and a wooden bench, causing the latter to be uprooted. Another man called the police after seeing this, while Murugesan kicked another dustbin and wooden bench, causing the latter to break into a few pieces.

Two police officers arrived at the scene at about 5.15pm.

Murugesan began behaving aggressively when they tried to interview him, and shouted “shoot me” repeatedly while gesturing at his upper chest.

When two other officers came, Murugesan suddenly charged towards one of them while holding a can of beer in one hand and clenching his other fist. He tried to punch Station Inspector Abdul Rahim Jumat, who moved back and pulled out his baton.

Sergeant Benson Koh tasered Murugesan, but he was unaffected and continued moving towards Station Inspector Abdul Rahim. The officer hit Murugesan’s thigh with his baton and told him to get down, but Murugesan refused to comply.

Sergeant Koh then tasered him a second time, arrested him and took him to Police Cantonment Complex.

On Tuesday, Murugesan gave his own mitigation plea in court through a Tamil interpreter. He said that he came to Singapore in July last year to work and support his parents in India, who are “totally reliant on me for their basic necessities”.

“I realise that by committing these offences, I have not only jeopardised my future but also robbed my family of a comfortable life. I sincerely apologise to the court and all the victims for what I have done,” he added.