Man who was shot by police in Balestier raid charged along with co-accused
A police van spotted at City Suites at 235 Balestier Road, where a suspect was shot by police on Nov 5, 2020. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
SINGAPORE: A man who was shot by a police officer after trying to snatch his revolver during a raid in Balestier was charged on Friday (Nov 6) along with two co-accused.
Prakash Mathivanan, 36, was given a charge each of voluntarily causing hurt to a police officer by punching and kicking him and cheating Singtel into delivering seven iPhones worth S$14,273 to another man. He was charged in the Court Crime Registry Chambers, in a hearing that was not open to the public.
His co-accused, 22-year-old Nikhil M Durgude, was given one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a police officer by punching and kicking him.
The alleged attacks by the two men on the same police officer occurred at about 1.20am on Nov 5 at 235 Balestier Road, charge sheets said.
The third co-accused, 33-year-old Malani Naidu Prabhakar Naidu, was given one charge of cheating Singtel that mirrors Prakash's.
Prakash was shot in the abdomen by a police officer after attempting to snatch his revolver and attacking another officer.
He was taken to hospital and was in a stable condition as of Thursday evening. Two police officers who were injured in the scuffle were also stable and recuperating.
The raid was conducted by the police after a series of syndicated telco scams. A telecommunications company purportedly incurred a loss of about S$43,000 from fraudulent handset sales.
NIKHIL ADDRESSES JUDGE
Speaking from where he was remanded, Nikhil said he did not kick or punch the police officer.
"They took the gun and shoot my friend. I didn't do anything and now ... they want to charge me for assaulting an officer," he said.
"When they entered the house they (turned) off the light, then they fight with my friend, then they took out (a) gun and shoot, but I was squatting on the floor and now they say they are charging me for a cheating case (I'm not involved in). I don't know why I'm being remanded," he claimed.
"The laser was pointed at me, I didn't do anything, I didn't attack the officer at all, then they like don't want to let me speak to my mum or anyone else."
The police said after the shooting that three officers had entered the Balestier unit and identified themselves to the four suspects inside, including the three accused.
READ: Suspect shot by police during Balestier raid after attacking officer and attempting to snatch revolver
They said Prakash suddenly lunged at an officer and attacked him repeatedly, causing him to fall to the floor, bleeding from his face.
He allegedly did not stop his assault despite being warned, and Nikhil allegedly stepped forward and was assessed to be likely to join Prakash in his assault.
A second officer drew his revolver and warned Prakash to stop his assault, but he allegedly did not comply, rushing suddenly towards the second officer to grab his revolver.
In the struggle that ensued, the second officer discharged a round from his revolver and shot at Prakash.
Prakash and Nikhil were already accused of committing other offences before being given the fresh charges.
Nikhil faces more than 20 charges, mostly drug-related or in relation to breaching conditions while under police supervision.
Prakash was sentenced in October 2018 to 34 months' jail, backdated to his remand date in May 2017, for 13 charges, mostly of cheating and computer crimes. Another 54 charges were taken into consideration.
He appealed but had his appeal dismissed in January 2019. On top of this, he faces more than 40 pending charges, including drug offences, theft and cheating.
All three accused will return to court at a later date. The prosecutor tried to have Nikhil remanded for psychiatric observation, but this was rejected by the judge, who did not find sufficient indication for it other than symptoms of depression Nikhil exhibited in lockup. Instead, he was remanded for investigations.
Malani was also remanded for investigations and for a scene visit, while Prakash is in hospital.
If convicted of voluntarily causing hurt to a police officer to deter him from his duty, Prakash and Nikhil could be jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these penalties.
If convicted of cheating, Prakash and Malani can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
