A third man among 25 charged for their roles in the Little India riot on Dec 8 last year was jailed for 18 weeks on Thursday.

Indian national Selvaraj Karikalan, 28, who was a driver for a construction company here, was originally charged with rioting, which carries a sentence of up to seven years and caning. But he admitted his guilt to an amended charge of continuing in an assembly after it was ordered to disperse, under Section 151 of the Penal Code. His sentence was backdated to the date of his arrest on Dec 8.

His is the third such case under this particular section of the Penal Code after two Indian construction workers also pleaded guilty earlier this month to amended charges for failing to disperse at the vicinity of the riot.

The December fracas was the worst case of violence Singapore had seen in more than four decades. It left 23 emergency vehicles damaged and 49 Home Team personnel hurt.