Singapore man jailed for deliberately coughing at police officer

The man has also been disqualified from driving for three years

A representational image showing people sitting and walking at the Marina Bay at dusk in Singapore (AFP via Getty Images)

A court in Singapore on Monday jailed a 29-year-old, Indian-origin man for 14 weeks for deliberately coughing at a police officer who was responding to a domestic violence call at the house, amid Covid-19 restrictions in the country.

In September 2020, the police received a call for assistance at a flat and the caller said that a person in the flat is being violent. Three police officers responded to the call during which Devraj Tamil Selvan, an Indian-origin Singaporean, slapped his girlfriend on the face in their presence.

While he was being taken to the police car, he used his body to push against one of the police officers, reported The Straits Times.

Inside the vehicle, Selvan claimed that he could not breathe properly following which the police called an ambulance and took him to the Ng Teng Fong general hospital.

The news report said that Selvan also removed his mask, and despite multiple warnings by the police and the hospital staff and deliberately coughed several times at the police officer he had earlier pushed.

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Selvan, who also abused two police officers, pleaded guilty to charges of using criminal force and abusive words and behaviour towards a police officer. He faced jail time of up to four years or fined, or both, for using criminal force against a police officer.

During the hearing, the court was also informed that he rode his motorcycle in August 2020 despite being disqualified from driving any vehicle between January 2019 and July 2020 this year. Now, once he is released from prison, he will be disqualified from driving for three years.

His lawyer informed the court that he has been looking after his mother, who is suffering from depression following which the court deferred his jail term to 26 April so that he can make arrangements for taking care of his mother.

A report by NDTV further said that Selvan was fined in 2009 for theft, served six months in the Singapore Armed Forces’ detention barracks for voluntarily causing hurt, and was jailed for eight weeks in October 2019 for offences related to harassment.