Central Narcotics Bureau Officer Convicted Of Causing Voluntarily Hurt To Drug Suspect
Singapore is known for its unwavering, tough stance against drug offences. But that does not mean it’s okay for authorities to use physical force against suspects just to get a confession.
A Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer has been found guilty of 3 counts of assault towards a drug suspect.
Following a trial on Friday (18 Mar), a judge convicted Vengedesh Raj Nainar Nagarajan of voluntarily causing harm to extort a confession in a Woodlands Checkpoint toilet stall on 2 Jan in 2017.
The accused has pleaded guilty, and he’s set to return to court on 29 Apr for his sentencing.
CNB officer became angry over denials from drug suspect
According to The Straits Times, Vengedesh, 35, had interrogated Sivabalan Kanniappan, 39, 3 times back in 2017. Each session ended in varying degrees of assault by the CNB officer towards the drug suspect.
Vengedesh, who was working for the bureau as a corporal at the time, had been called in to communicate with Sivabalan in Tamil.
At 6am, he arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint CNB office to attend to Sivabalan. The Malaysian had been stopped for an inspection the day before at 3.40pm, following the discovery of a blue bundle containing controlled drugs in a raincoat bag on his motorcycle.
Initially, Vengedesh interacted with Sivabalan amicably to get the latter to open up to him.
However, things took a turn when the officer asked about the drug bundle, and Sivabalan denied any knowledge of it.
The first instance of assault then took place, with Vengedesh slapping the left side of Sivabalan’s head. According to prosecutors, he then punched the Malaysian in his left arm, slapping his face with the back of his hand and kicking the left side of his knee.
This string of abuse left the victim in tears. Sivabalan eventually confessed that he had intended to bring the bundle into Singapore and that it had been given to him by someone named ‘Nesh’.
Assaults worsened with each interrogation
Minutes later, Vengedesh and Sivabalan exited the toilet, where the latter was given breakfast before having his second statement recorded.
When Vengedesh asked Sivabalan about the contents of the drug bundle, the latter denied knowing what they were.
The officer then dragged the victim back into the toilet, during which prosecutors said,
The accused punched Sivabalan’s left bicep, punched his left elbow and kicked his left leg between the waist and mid-thigh more than once.
Sivabalan did not call for help as he felt it would be futile and feared that it would worsen Vengedesh’s treatment of him.
Another officer stepped in to stop the assault, and the second interrogation ended at 8.43am.
15 minutes later, Sivabalan was abused by Vengedesh for the third and final time when a second bundle of drugs fell out of the raincoat bag. According to Yahoo News Singapore, Vengedesh kicked the victim on the ribs and his lower spine.
Officer suspended since 2019
The incident came to light after a doctor’s examination on Sivabalan that same day, where he complained of pain in various body parts, including his left lower ribs and back.
CNB began investigations into the matter following Sivabalan’s allegations. The bureau stressed that it does not condone any misconduct by its officers, and takes a serious view of all complaints against them.
Vengedesh has been suspended from his position since Oct 2019.
As for Sivabalan, he has since been found guilty of drug offences and sentenced to 15 years in jail and 13 strokes of the cane.
Officer to be sentenced on 29 Apr
Vengedesh’s mitigation and sentencing are expected to take place on 29 Apr.
For each count of voluntarily causing hurt to extort a confession, he can be incarcerated for up to 7 years and fined or caned.
At the same time, he is pending 3 other charges for offences that include harassment.
Before the conviction, his defence team denied that any assault took place, saying that Vengedesh only admitted to being loud and firm to Sivabalan but never laid hands on him.
Nonetheless, the judge found his evidence to be inconsistent and decided that the evidence from Staff Sergeant Mohammad Adli Mohamed Nawar – who escorted the victim on two occasions and witnessed one of the assaults – was more credible.
Suspects, guilty or otherwise, deserve humane treatment
While the victim made a big mistake and deserved to be punished for his actions, what he endured at the hands of the officer was a severe breach of justice.
That said, this is not a reflection of how all government officers act, and it restores a glimmer of hope every time we hear of one going above and beyond.
Hopefully, this heartrending incident serves as a lesson to all government officers to conduct their duties responsibly and ethically.
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