SINGAPORE - Indian national Samiyappan Sellathurai, who was jailed 25 months for inciting others to damage public property in the Little India riots in December, was on Friday given an additional three strokes of the cane.

Prosecutors had appealed for the 42-year-old to be given caning on top of his jail term. Samiyappan had instigated others to remove a dislodge a concrete slab from the pavement. He then smashed the slab into pieces which he hurled at police cars, emergency vehicles and public servants. He later incited others to pick up a metal rack and ram it repeatedly against a side wall of the Little India MRT station.

Allowing the appeal, Justice Chan Seng Onn said that Samiyappan played the roles of both instigator and active participant. He said vandalism was involved as there was destruction of public property. If Samiyappan had been charged with vandalism, he would have been caned, explained the judge.