SINGAPORE, Oct 10 — When Jeya Jayaram moved out of the Jalan Kayu flat that she shared with her ex-boyfriend, she left her pet chihuahua there, returning occasionally with her teenage son to feed it.
She soon found herself in prison on unrelated matters, which meant that the dog was neglected for two months until it died from dehydration. A neighbour alerted the National Parks Board (NParks) after seeing the canine lying in a filthy cage in the flat.
Over the next two years, Jeya would run into trouble with the law several times again. In one instance, she stabbed her ex-boyfriend with a knife after he punched her during a fight in public.
For her actions in various incidents spanning from 2020 to earlier this year, the 38-year-old Singaporean was jailed on Monday (Oct 10) for seven months and four weeks.
She pleaded guilty to one count each of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon and behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place.
She was also fined S$5,800 and banned from owning pets for a year after admitting to two offences under the Animals and Birds Act.
These were for not licensing the dog, as well as failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that it was given enough suitable food and water.
The court heard that Jeya got the dog in December 2018 when her then-boyfriend adopted it for her.
The couple broke up in February 2020 and Jeya moved to a flat along Marsiling Road. She left the canine at her previous Jalan Kayu home.
She last went back to feed it on March 22 in 2020, but ended up being arrested the next day and held on remand until about two months later.
When she was released, she asked her son to go to the flat to feed the dog but it had died by then.
A neighbour had just called the authorities, saying that the flat’s occupants had not returned home for a while and left the dog unattended in the flat.
The neighbour also looked through a window and saw the canine lying in a cage that had dried dog food in it. However, the neighbour was unsure if there was water in the dog’s water bowl.
The dog barked in response to the neighbour knocking on the door, but when NParks officers visited the flat the next day, they saw it lying motionless and unresponsive in the cage.
Court documents showed that the dog suffered from a dental disease, hair loss and flaking of the skin over many areas of its body. An autopsy revealed that it was also significantly dehydrated with overgrown nails.
Fought at void deck
About a year passed before Jeya got into a fight with her ex-boyfriend, Bharathan Sundramurthi, who was in his late 30s.
On March 21 last year, Bharathan went to the void deck of a block of flats in Jalan Kayu to talk to Jeya about their relationship. Two friends accompanied him there.
Jeya and her new boyfriend, who had been drinking at her home, met them at the void deck. She took a knife with her.
Bharathan soon punched her and she retaliated by punching him several times. When he fell, Jeya’s boyfriend held him down while Jeya continued assaulting him, which included stabbing him in the back with the knife.
Bharathan was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital a few hours later when he could not tolerate the pain any longer.
Jeya was arrested and remanded once more.
On Jan 8 this year, she and her boyfriend got drunk at her aunt-in-law’s home. They switched off her power supply and caused a ruckus along the common corridor, leading to several calls to the police.
When police officers arrived, they discovered the couple drunkenly shouting at the void deck. Jeya was placed under arrest once more.
Today, Jeya’s pro bono lawyer, Sadhana Rai, told the court that her client took a knife with her to meet Bharathan for self-defence. Their relationship had not ended well and she was concerned for her own safety, the defence counsel added.
Ms Rai added that Bharathan continued to confront Jeya after their fight and “remained confrontational”.
District Judge Wong Le Tein told the court that even if Jeya took the knife along for self-defence, it was clear that she used it as an offensive weapon at that point.
For the most serious offence of voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, Jeya could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined, caned, or given any combination of the three. Women cannot be caned under Singapore's laws. — TODAY
