Two charged over scuffle outside courts

SINGAPORE - Two men were charged in court yesterday for allegedly being involved in a scuffle outside the State Courts in February. Vasily Chuply, 24, and Alexander Kalinin, 37, are accused of disturbing the peace by fighting with each other at a public place outside the Havelock Square premises on Feb 13.

Chuply, who came to Singapore at age 15 and became a citizen here in 2009, was represented by Mr Chia Boon Teck. Kalinin, who works in the finance industry, is represented by Mr Amarjit Singh.

They will return to court on June 5 when their pleas will be taken. If convicted, they could be jailed up to one year and/or be fined up to $5,000.

An earlier report by The New Paper said the fracas lasted about five minutes. A woman also reportedly joined in the fight, swinging her shopping bag at Kalinin. A security guard had to come out from the building to stop the fight.

A State Courts spokesman had said then that there was an altercation between two court users. They were in court to attend a hearing for an application to appeal to the High Court over a Small Claims Tribunal case. The application was denied, she said.

This article was first published on May 22, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.