Key Points:
- Singapore court sentences two Indian youths to 5 years and 1 month jail plus 12 strokes of the cane
- Convicted of luring, tying up, assaulting, and robbing two call girls in separate hotel incidents
- Harsh punishment highlights Singapore’s zero-tolerance laws for violent crimes
- Defendants pleaded for mercy citing financial crisis but court denied leniency
- Arrest followed victim’s immediate complaint and rapid police action
New Delhi: A leisure trip to Singapore for 23-year-old Arokiasamy Dyson and 27-year-old Rajendran Mayilarasan ended in disaster as both were sentenced to over five years in prison and 12 canings following violent robberies committed during their stay. Arriving on September 24, the duo met a stranger in the well-known Little India district, who supplied them with contacts for two service providers. Driven by financial desperation, Arokiasamy confided his plan to rob the women, and his friend agreed, setting the stage for their criminal downfall.
Two Attacks in One Night
On September 26, the pair lured a woman to their hotel on Jalan Besar, immediately binding and assaulting her before stealing around $2,000 (Singapore dollars) in cash, jewelry, her passport, and bank cards. Undeterred, they repeated the crime hours later by calling another woman to a hotel on Desker Road, where they dragged and gagged her, made off with $800, two phones, and vital travel documents, and threatened her against reporting the crime.
No Mercy in Court
The second victim managed to seek help the next day, triggering a rapid police probe and the arrest of both accused. Facing trial without legal counsel, Arokiasamy pleaded with the judge to consider his family’s dire financial situation, his grief over his father’s death, and his responsibilities toward his wife and child back in India. However, Singapore’s strict criminal law provided no leniency for such violent acts: both men were sentenced to five years and one month in prison each plus twelve strokes of the cane a punishment designed to send a tough message to offenders.
