SINGAPORE, Feb 10 — To humiliate a man who owed money to a friend, 47-year-old Nadeson Pillai Sokkalingam Pillai forced him to strip naked and do some gymnastics.
Nadeson and two friends then had the man dress up, go to a barber and have his beard and head shaved.
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Both acts were recorded by one of Nadeson’s friends.
Nadeson was sentenced yesterday (February 9) to five months in prison for criminal intimidation with common intent against two friends. A similar charge and a charge of voluntarily causing bodily harm were also subject to sentencing.
His friends Jay Sean Fernandes and Jude Prabhu Davis Pathy have also been charged with criminal intimidation.
what happened
Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong (DP) told the court that the victim borrowed about S$400 from Jay and agreed to pay S$700 on March 26 last year.
However, the victim repaid only S$200, and Mr Jay continued to rack up the debt, which he estimated was around S$6,000 by May 13.
The same day, Jay asked Nadeson and Jude to meet him and the victim at a bar in The Woodlands.
“Jay then told the defendant and Jude to accompany him to confront the victim who had failed to repay the debt. Jude and the defendant agreed,” said Jeong of the Democratic Progressive Party.
At the bar, three people took turns assaulting the victim, with Nadeson hitting him in the cheek with a bangle.
The trio then marched the victim to a warehouse on the Woodlands Industrial Estate, which Jay recorded on his mobile phone.
At the warehouse, Jay ordered the victim to strip naked. When the victim hesitated, the trio threatened to hit him again.
“The victim had been assaulted by the three men just before this, and the threat made her feel quite frightened. The victim accordingly took off all her clothes,” Jeong, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, told the court.
The victims were then forced to do sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks and sprints in the nude for three to five minutes, which Jay recorded on his phone.
He then warned the victim that he would publish the video online if he filed a police report.
The victim was then ordered by the trio to get dressed and go to a barber.
There, the barber was asked to shave the victim’s head and beard, which he did. This event was also recorded by Jay.
The victim reported the incident to police on May 29, and Jay was arrested the same day. Jude was arrested on July 25, and Nadeson remained at large until January 24 of this year.
Victim “suffered great damage” humiliation
Chung of the Democratic Progressive Party asked for six to eight months in prison, pointing out that Na Daesong, Jae, and Jude had just assaulted the victim and “understood the threat without hesitation.”
“Previous physical assaults also amplified the force of the threat in the victim’s mind and caused further fear of being beaten again,” he added.
“The victim’s fear would have been exacerbated by the circumstances in which the threat was made – in a secluded area, outnumbering the suspect three to one, with no means of escape.”
Chin, from the Democratic Progressive Party, said the trio’s decision to film the victim “only increased his humiliation.”
In his mitigation plea, Nadeson said he was intoxicated at the time.
He also questioned the extent of the victim’s injuries from the physical assault and asked whether the victim had visited the hospital.
Nadeson claimed in court, “[The victim]had my friend’s money and didn’t pay it back, but he took it to another bar and spent it on the women at the bar.” He added that he felt it was “unfair” that the victim was in prison while he was a free man.
Nadeson’s sentence was backdated to January 24, the date of his arrest.
Criminal intimidation could have been punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. – today