Secret society member jailed two years and caned for knife attack on teenager

SINGAPORE - A secret society member who stabbed a teenager while released on reformative training supervision was sentenced to two years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Wednesday.

Sivakandesh, 21, is understood to have been involved in a dispute with 17-year-old Sean Lavin Pasion Emile before he went to his Bishan flat and attacked him on Nov 18 last year. He pleaded guilty to cutting his face and stabbing him on his left thigh.

A court heard that Sivakandesh had met two other society members at the void deck of the block before going to his unit where they found him asleep with a friend.

After waking him by punching him in the face, the trio shouted at him in Tamil then punched, kicked and cut him with a knife. The victim shouted in pain and his father called for an ambulance.

The case against Sivakandesh's co-accused, Jai Ganesh Tanapolan, 24, is pending, while Guru Aravind, 20 - who is believed to be the third man involved - is at large.

Sivakandesh also admitted to having a 21cm-long chopper at Clarke Quay without lawful authority on Nov 27 last year.

He was spotted holding the kitchen chopper and walking towards the Planet Paradise nightspot at Clarke Quay with another man at about 1.40am.

A police officer stopped him and drew out his Taser, telling him to drop his weapon. Sivakandesh dropped his chopper and ran away but was arrested.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Claire Poh said Sivakandesh committed the offences while he was on RTC supervision and had not learned his lesson. He was sentenced to RTC in 2012 for rioting, unlawful possession of a weapon and causing hurt.

The maximum punishment for causing hurt with a dangerous weapon is seven years' jail, fine and caning. For having the offensive weapon, he could have been jailed for up to three years and given at least six strokes.

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