Vehicles damaged during the Little India riot in Singapore in December, 2013. (Reuters)
The prosecution in the Little India Riot case has charged the accused Indian national of lying about being blocked by police from getting into his rented room in Little India, the area where the riot occurred in December 8, 2013.
Arun Kaliamurthy, 29, took the stand yesterday on the third day of his trial for failing to disperse on the night of the riot even after being lawfully commanded to do so by the police, reported The Straits Times.
Arun told the court he did try to "disperse" when told to do so by police trying to clear the vicinity of Race Course Road, the area of Singapore's worst street violence in which 23 emergency vehicles were damaged or set on fire and 43 enforcement officers injured.
Arun claimed as he approached his block in Chander Road, auxiliary police officers prevented him from heading up, leaving him "no choice" but to hang around at restaurants nearby.
Arun was later arrested at a restaurant along Kampong Kapor Road at about 2 am on December 9, hours after the riot.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sellakumaran Sellamuthoo accused Arun of lying, pointing out that his flat mate had in fact made it home earlier and had not mentioned any difficulties with auxiliary police officers.
Before his arrest, Arun also took a five-minute video with his mobile phone showing burning vehicles while men could be seen cheering, whistling, and urging others to take part in the mayhem.
Arun said he was so focused on taking the video that he could not fully register the commands to disperse.
He also claimed that he assumed the instructions were for those actively involved in the riot.
Arun said he did not think it applied to bystanders, describing himself as one.
But DPP Sellakumaran said that the commands to disperse could be heard clearly in Arun's video, and that the accused had blatantly ignored them.
However, Arun denied the allegation and told the court that he would "certainly" have left the area if he had understood that the announcements were meant for everyone.
District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan is expected to deliver his verdict on May 28 and if convicted, Arun could face up to two years in jail and a fine.
Arun, who was then in Singapore looking for a job, is one of the 25 Indian nationals charged for the riot. All the others have been convicted and sentenced to jail, some with caning.
The riot broke out amid a crowd of some 400 South Asian migrant workers when an Indian national died in an accident with a bus.