M'sian man jailed for knifing colleague he had argued with

Believing that his colleague had bad-mouthed him to their supervisor, a security guard ended up stabbing him three times in the back before fleeing to Malaysia.

The security guard, Malaysian national Charles Isaac Santhianathan Olganathan, remained in hiding for eight years before he was finally arrested at Kuching International Airport this year and extradited back to Singapore.

Yesterday, Santhianathan, 47, was sentenced to 18 months' jail for voluntarily causing hurt to his colleague, Mr Rajan Arumugam.

The incident happened on June 7, 2006, when both men were working at 65 Bukit Tinggi Road, which is off Dunearn Road.

The court heard that Santhianathan, who was then 39, had gone to Bukit Timah to buy dinner after handing over duties to Mr Rajan in the evening.

When he returned at about 9.45pm, he got into a heated argument with Mr Rajan, accusing the latter of talking about him behind his back to their supervisor.

He was also not happy that Mr Rajan, who was then 38, had spoken to his wife.

The argument then turned into a scuffle, with both men punching and shoving each other. After Mr Rajan punched Santhianathan, the latter fell back and hit a table.

As Mr Rajan was walking away, Santhianathan picked up a knife that was on the table and stabbed him in the back three times.

He then pulled out the knife, which had a 15cm blade, and threw it in some bushes before fleeing.

Afraid of being caught, he left Singapore for Malaysia that same night.

WOUNDS TREATED

Mr Rajan, who is also Malaysian, was taken to Singapore General Hospital. He was treated for three stab wounds which were between 1cm and 5cm deep.

He had to undergo surgery and was given 14 days of medical leave.

While a warrant of arrest was issued for Santhianathan on June 28, 2006, it was not until May 28 this year that he was arrested. He was brought back to Singapore on June 1.

Santhianathan could have been jailed up to five years, fined and caned for voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon.

This article was first published on October 30, 2014.
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