Judge jails serial offender, urges him to quit alcohol

SINGAPORE - A judge told an odd job worker to sort out his alcohol problem after jailing him for a string of offences - ranging from throwing a bicycle from the 15th storey of an HDB block to arguing with a neighbour while naked.

Singaporean Philip Sudhan Dhanaraj, 54, pleaded guilty to committing a rash act as well as a slew of other charges, such as theft and performing an obscene act in public.

The court heard how he had also rubbed his genitals in a Starbucks outlet and stole two bottles of Japanese wine from a FairPrice supermarket.

Many of his offences were carried out while he was intoxicated and District Judge Eddy Tham noted that Dhanaraj had been "repeating this behaviour".

"It's quite clear that…drinking is the source of your problems," said Judge Tham, who sentenced Dhanaraj to six months' jail on Friday (May 15).

"Your behaviour in public is an assault on people's senses."

He urged Dhanaraj to seek counselling for his alcoholism. Dhanaraj confirmed that he will be seeking psychiatric help at Changi General Hospital after serving his sentence.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhuo Wenzhao told the court that on February 23, the police received a call from a resident who complained that an ofo shared bicycle had been thrown from the 15th floor of his block on Bedok North Street, where Dhanaraj also lives.

He was about to throw a second one over a railing when the resident urged him to stop.

Police were called and Dhanaraj was arrested.

He had also been nabbed the previous day after a neighbour called to complain that Dhanaraj, while drunk and naked, was arguing with her "for nothing".

He had been sitting in his living room with the door open, exposed to public view.

The court heard that Dhanaraj had been jailed several times in the past for various offences, including insulting the modesty of a woman and using abusive words towards a bus driver.

The bicycle incident is the latest in a string of cases involving the abuse of shared bicycles.

On June 17 last year, a 14-year-old was arrested after throwing an ofo bike from the 30th floor of an HDB block. Five days later, a 47-year-old was arrested after throwing an ofo bicycle from a 15th floor.

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