SINGAPORE - A 25-year-old man admitted on Thursday (June 1) to attacking a police officer and leaving him with a bloody face in an incident that involved another officer drawing his gun in a condominium unit.
Nikhil M. Durgude pleaded guilty to eight charges including one for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty.
His other charges included the possession of cannabis and consumption of methamphetamine.
On Nov 5, 2020, three officers including Senior Staff Sergeant Chua Ming Cheng and Inspector Zheng Yiyang went to a unit at City Suites in Balestier as part of a police operation, according to court documents.
They identified themselves as police to Nikhil and two others, Prakash Mathivanan and Malani Naidu Prabhakar Naidu, in the living room.
As the trio squatted and placed hands on their heads as ordered, they began talking to each other.
After SSS Chua instructed them to stop, Prakash got up and lunged at the officer, causing him to fall. Prakash also hit SSS Chua in the face and upper body.
Inspector Zheng drew his service revolver and pointed it at the sofa, which was in the general direction of Prakash and Nikhil. After he commanded Prakash to stop attacking SSS Chua, Prakash turned to him and grabbed his hands which were holding the revolver.
Before SSS Chua could get up and assist Inspector Zheng, he was attacked by Nikhil, who punched and kicked him repeatedly. He fell again and Nikhil continued to assault SSS Chua as he lay on the floor.
Said the prosecution: “The accused did so to prevent SSS Chua from assisting Inspector Zheng, and intending, therefore, to deter SSS Chua from discharging his duty as such public servant.”
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A while later, two other officers were led into the unit and Nikhil ceased his attack on SSS Chua.
The trio were arrested. Methamphetamine was detected in Nikhil’s urine when it was tested at the Central Police Division headquarters where he had been taken.
The police had said previously that a man was shot in the abdomen during a struggle with officers who raided an apartment in the condominium.
SSS Chua, who sought medical attention at Singapore General Hospital, suffered a cut on the forehead and abrasions on his right elbow and left forearm.
For voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant, Nikhil could be jailed for up to seven years, caned, or fined.
He is expected to be sentenced on June 16.
Correction note: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Malani Naidu Prabhakar Naidu. This has been corrected.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.