Security officer jailed, caned over fatal assault on colleague

The two Malaysian security officers were drinking over dinner in the security post they shared when one admitted that he had been defecating inside the post instead of the toilet. The revelation incensed the other guard so much that he began raining punches on his colleague’s face.

The assault by 35-year-old Joshua Thomas eventually led to 49-year-old Jasvinder Singh’s death.

At the State Courts on Thursday (4 January), Thomas was sentenced to four years’ jail and six strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt.

According to the statement of facts, at about 11pm on 16 November 2016, the two duo were drinking brandy over dinner when an argument broke out after Singh admitted to defecating in the security post.

Singh apologised to Thomas but the latter refused to accept the apology. Thomas then punched Singh twice in the face. The blows were so forceful that Singh’s turban came off his head.

The two continued arguing until about 1am and Thomas continued punching Singh in the face during this time. Singh also did not retaliate and remained seated.

When Singh showed Thomas a broken tooth caused by the punches, Thomas took it and threw it away. A third security officer who witnessed the argument told Thomas to stop but Thomas said Singh deserved to be punched.

At 1am, Singh tried to stand up from his chair but was pushed to the floor by Thomas. While Singh lay on unmoving on the floor, the third guard went to his security post and called the police.

Thomas then took the money he had previously given Singh and checked into a hotel in Geylang with a Thai prostitute.

Although he was informed by a colleague at about 5pm that the police were looking for him, he chose not to surrender. Police then traced him to the hotel and arrested him at 9pm.

An autopsy report indicated that Singh died from a fracture-dislocation of the cervical spine. Three fractures were also found on Singh’s face, along with multiple bruises and two dislodged teeth.

Describing the incident as “a tragic case where a life was needlessly lost due to senseless brutality”, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Bhajanvir Singh called for a jail term of four years and six strokes of the cane for Thomas, noting that Thomas was the aggressor despite Singh’s repeated apologies.

DPP Bhajanvir also said Thomas’ intoxication was an aggravating factor and that he chose not to surrender when contacted by police.

In mitigation, Thomas’ lawyer Melvin Loh said that his client did not surrender because he was heavily intoxicated and did not think he was in a state to surrender.

Loh also said Thomas was angered because Singh had denied defecating in the security post on multiple occasions and he felt “betrayed” because he had given Singh many chances to confess.

District Judge Kenneth Yap said the mitigation plea did not explain the duration of the assault and the multiple blows inflicted by Thomas. The judge added that Thomas’ actions were “plain savagery”.

Loh said that Thomas had not been fully aware how hard he had struck Singh and thought that Singh had fallen asleep after the multiple blows. Loh said Thomas was remorseful for his actions and would carry the weight of regret for killing his friend for the rest of his life.

DJ Yap said that Singh’s death was “completely needless”.

“What you did was a senseless act of brutality. You use excessive force, failed to summon assistance for him, took his money and went to gallivant,” said DJ Yap to Thomas.

The judge said there was a need to send a deterrent message against this kind of behaviour. He added that four years and six strokes of the cane was a fair sentence because Thomas could have been charged for murder.

DJ Yap also backdated Thomas’ jail term to the date of his remand on 19 November 2016. For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, Thomas could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined, caned or received any combination of the punishments.

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