SINGAPORE, March 16 — After being challenged to a fight at a bar, Sheran Raj Balasubramaniam stabbed a 24-year-old in the back with a knife-like weapon called a tactical harpoon. When he tried to remove the harpoon from the victim’s lower back, he could not and was stopped by the victim’s friend. He later fled when he learnt that someone had called the police.
Yesterday, Sheran, now 24, was sentenced to three years and seven months’ jail and 10 strokes of the cane, after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing grievous hurt and possession of an offensive weapon.
Three charges of mischief, causing alarm and giving someone access to his Singpass account were taken into consideration.
The man who gave Sheran the harpoon, 29-year-old S Mageshwaran, pleaded guilty to possession of the weapon and other offences last July.
TODAY has asked the Attorney-General’s Chambers for details of his sentence.
What happened
On June 3, 2022, Sheran and Mageshwaran decided to visit Candy Bar at Ming Arcade shopping centre along Cucaden Road.
Sheran told Mageshwaran to take along a weapon because fights occasionally broke out at the bar, so Mageshwaran chose a harpoon.
A harpoon is a barbed, spear-like instrument typically used in fishing and hunting.
Mageshwaran passed Sheran the weapon, which Sheran kept in the left pocket of his shorts.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Melissa Heng said that the duo entered Candy Bar at about 12.30am, where they drank two bottles of whisky.
At about 4.20am, Sheran noticed Mr Lingeshwaran Ashokan, 24, arguing with a woman, when Mr Lingeshwaran pulled her hair. The woman was Mr Lingeshwaran’s sister.
Many customers noticed the dispute as well, and Sheran decided to intervene by telling Mr Lingeshwaran to stop.
When Mr Lingeshwaran approached Sheran aggressively, Sheran slapped him on the head. In response, Mr Lingeshwaran challenged Sheran to a fight.
They both left Candy Bar, as Mr Lingeshwaran continued to taunt Sheran.
By this point, Sheran was enraged by the other man’s remarks and wanted to cause hurt to him, DPP Heng said.
The other man’s friends stood between the two in a bid to shield Mr Lingeshwaran from Sheran, who was advancing towards him and pushing away some of the people.
They then reached the lift lobby at Ming Arcade, where Mr Lingeshwaran could no longer back away. His friends continued to stand around him, trying to shield him from Sheran.
Sheran then took the harpoon from his back pocket and lunged towards Mr Lingeshwaran twice, but missed.
At one point in the midst of the chaos, Sheran managed to stab him once in his lower back.
When he tried to retrieve the weapon, it remained embedded in Mr Lingeshwaran’s lower back. One of the friends then pushed away Sheran, who returned to Candy Bar.
In the bar, Sheran was told that the police had been called and had arrived, so he put on a jacket that another customer gave him to cover the blood on his white shirt, and left the scene.
DPP Heng said that Mr Lingeshwaran was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with the harpoon still in his back, and was given a total of 27 days hospitalisation leave after it was removed.
Sheran also pleaded guilty on Friday for possession of an offensive weapon after he took a chopper from his home following an argument with his mother.
He had been caught after his sister reported him to the police, fearing for the public’s safety, DPP Heng added.
He was arrested on October 21 last year over this incident, which happened while he was on bail for stabbing Mr Lingeshwaran.
Is harpoon as dangerous as a knife?
DPP Heng called for a sentence of four years’ and two months’ jail to four years’ and four months’ jail, as well as eight to 10 strokes of the cane.
She argued that Sheran should be given a longer jail term since he had used a harpoon, compared to previous court cases where offenders had used weapons such as a knife or a parang.
Mr Ashvin Hariharan from law firm IRB Law, representing Sheran, countered that the harpoon was no different to a knife or a parang because the blade of the harpoon Sheran used was 6cm long.
He also said that Sheran was aged just 22 when he committed the offences.
Even though District Judge Paul Chan agreed that the harpoon should be given the same weight of severity as if it were a knife, he did not agree that Sheran’s young age was a factor.
“He is not a first-time offender. Having been convicted, he ought to have realised the seriousness of the offences. Evidently, he has not,” the judge said.
Sheran had been convicted of criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt using a dangerous weapon in November 2018.
For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, he could have been jailed for up to 15 years and caned or fined.
For possession of an offensive weapon, he could have been jailed for up to three years and been given up to six strokes of the cane. — TODAY
