Indian-origin man jailed for bomb hoax in Singapore
Singapore, Jan 22 : An Indian-origin man has been jailed here for a bomb hoax in 2004 at Singapore's first prime minister late Lee Kuan Yew's house after consuming alcohol.
Ganesan Singaravel, 61, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Telecommunications Act, The New Paper reported Tuesday.
Ganesan drank alcohol till early morning on November 13, 2004, at a popular spot in Orchard Tower on Singapore's hotel belt of Orchard Road and then made a call from public telephone booth to the police, making reference to a bomb at Yew's house.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Benjamin Samynathan Monday told the court, "The call was made by the accused from a public phone located next to the Thai Embassy (also on Orchard Road). The call's message was clearly false, and the accused knew that the text of the call was false.
"A (police) patrol car was sent to Orchard Towers to interview and arrest the accused. He was coherent during his interactions with the officers at the scene. Meanwhile, the officers who were already stationed at Oxley Road (Lee's house) were told to step up patrols and be alert and vigilant."
Ganesan was charged on November 16, 2004, but he fled Singapore about two months later while on bail.
Last year, he was caught overstaying in the US. He told the authorities there that he wanted to return to Singapore. Subsequently, he was detained on his arrival here on July 15.
Defence lawyers -- Ravinderpal Singh and James Ow Yong -- stated in their mitigation plea that their client was drunk when he committed the offence.
The plea also stated, "The accused realises how alcohol has utterly destroyed his life and family, leading to his wife to divorce him, leaving him with nothing and his children to give up on him. The accused's family no longer wants anything to do with him.
"The offence has taken a terrible toll on the accused.
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6 women dead, 8 persons injured as bus rams into van in Gujarat's Sabarkantha
Sabarkantha (Gujarat) (PTI): Six women were killed and eight other persons injured after a private bus crashed into a van on a highway in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district on Wednesday, police said.
The van was ferrying women from Modasa in Aravalli district when a speeding bus hit it from behind on National Highway 48 connecting Shamlaji to Himmatnagar in the district, Deputy Superintendent of Police A K Patel said.
According to police, the women were part of a catering team for social events. They were travelling from Modasa in the neighbouring Aravalli district to Hunj village in Himmatnagar to attend a function when they met with the accident.
Six women passengers of the van were killed, Patel said.
Seven other women and the van driver suffered injuries, according to police.
The injured persons were rushed to the Himmatnagar civil hospital. The condition of two of them was critical, the hospital's medical officer, Dr Dhrupad Chauhan, said.
The bodies were sent to a government hospital for a postmortem.
VIDEO | Gujarat: Six persons were killed and four others injured after a private bus rammed into a van on a highway in Sabarkantha district on Wednesday, police said.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 29, 2026
The van carrying passengers was on its way from Shamlaji to Himmatnagar when the speeding bus hit it from… pic.twitter.com/Gvr79LfCvi
