THE THEN 21-YEAR-OLD Ajmeershah Sadayan outside his old family home in Marine Parade in happier times. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF ROSE NEESHA

View more photos

Believing in tough love, the retired port worker even took out a personal protection order against his son.

But the situation worsened.

His son, Ajmeershah Sadayan - the youngest of his four children - had repeated brushes with the law.

Last week, he was sentenced to nine years' jail for stabbing a man to death. He will also be given 12 strokes of the cane.

His 69-year-old father had regretted what he did. So, to make good, Mr Sathik poured more than $52,500 into his son's legal fees - funds from the sale of the family's four-room flat in Marine Parade.

He downgraded to a three-room unit in Hougang to pay for three lawyers: two of them being veteran criminal lawyers Subhas Anandan and Peter Fernando.

'If I did not love him deep in my heart, I would not have done all this,' he said, calling the sale of the family home of 30 years 'a small sacrifice'.

Ajmeershah, now 27, in a seven-page handwritten letter to the judge before he was sentenced on Monday, stated: 'Never did I expect that fate would bring us back together through this mishap.

'All my life, I thought that my father hated me.'

His son's mitigation letter moved Mr Sathik to tears: 'Even though bad things have happened, at least we are reunited.'

Yet throughout Ajmeershah's childhood, father and son clashed often.

Ajmeershah partied often, and dropped out of school after his N levels.

Mr Sathik's third child, 31-year-old accountant Rose Neesha, recalls her father especially 'hated it' when her brother came home late, adding that he favoured his two elder sons - 'the studious type'.

Ajmeershah, as well as their mother, Madam Ahmed Nurjehan, 58, moved in with Miss Rose after Mr Sathik threw him out.

Madam Nurjehan was so upset at her husband, she stayed with her children for four years and refused to return until 2005, when she finally forgave him.

But Ajmeershah's track record has not been pristine.

In the five years after he left home, he was arrested for five separate offences, and has spent a total of two months in jail for the various offences.

He worked odd jobs after he completed his national service in 2002 and did not find a permanent position until last year. He signed on as a bartender at Brix nightclub, where he worked until the stabbing incident on April 25 last year.

By then, he had moved into a rented Ang Mo Kio flat with his bride-to-be, Miss Maya Muruganthem. The couple have a 10-month-old daughter.

Though he was not all bad - Ajmeershah had received a police commendation for helping to nab several thieves in 1998 - his troubles only angered his father.

The turning point came only in April last year, the month of the stabbing incident.

When his parents visited Ajmeershah in prison, he told them how 'sad' and 'very sorry' he was.

After that, his father vowed to come to his aid. 'My son has a good heart. In times of crisis, as his father, I had to help.'

So, he read file after file of legal documents each night before court during the 16-month-long trial. He slept fitfully and rose early to pray for his son.

The stress took its toll on Mr Sathik, who suffers from high blood pressure. But ignoring his doctor's advice to 'take it easy', he never missed a court date or a visit to the Queenstown Remand Centre.

He even told his son at his first visit: 'I am very sorry for all that has happened in the past.'

At that tearful reunion, Ajmeershah promised his father: 'Whatever you want me to do, I will do. Wherever you want me to go, I will go.

'I will come out of this jail and work. I will return you all the money you spent on me. I will compensate you for all the sacrifices you made.'

Now, Ajmeershah intends to get his A levels in prison. Meanwhile, Mr Sathik and his wife look after their granddaughter while her mother is at work.

After he completes his sentence, Mr Sathik said he would not mind his son moving in with him.

'He will always be welcome at home.'

melodyz@sph.com.sg

A father's love

'If I did not love him deep in my heart, I would not have done all this.'
MR SATHIK SADAYAN, who poured more than $52,500 into his son's legal fees - funds from the sale of the family's four-room flat in Marine Parade.He downgraded to a three-room unit in Hougang to pay for three lawyers.