Indian chief priest sentenced to jail in Singapore for pawning temple jewellery
Singapore (PTI): The 39-year-old Indian chief priest of Singapore's oldest Hindu temple was sentenced to six years in jail on Tuesday for pawning over SGD 2 million (USD 1.5 million) of ceremonial jewellery repeatedly from a prominent temple, according to a media report.
Kandasamy Senapathi was employed by the Hindu Endowments Board as a priest at Sri Mariamman Temple in the downtown Chinatown district from December 2013 until he resigned on March 30, 2020.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal breach of trust by dishonest misappropriation and two charges of transferring criminal proceeds out of the country, Channel News Asia reported. Another six charges were considered in sentencing, it said.
Senapathi, an Indian national, was caught when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, throwing the regular audit timing off and revealing the missing jewellery.
In 2014, he was entrusted with the keys and combination number code to the safe in the temple's holy sanctum, which contained 255 pieces of gold jewellery owned by the temple, with a book value of about SGD 1.1 million.
Senapathi began pawning pieces of the jewellery in 2016, taking them to pawn shops and later redeeming them by using money he obtained from pawning other pieces of temple jewellery.
In 2016 alone, Senapathi pawned 66 pieces of gold jewellery from the temple on 172 occasions, the report said.
He continued this practice between 2016 and 2020, redeeming all the jewellery and returning it to the temple without anyone knowing whenever an audit was scheduled. Once the audit was completed, he would pawn the jewellery again to return the borrowed money.
Senapathi got SGD 2,328,760 from pawn shops between 2016 to 2020, of which he deposited some into his bank account and remitted about SGD 141,000 to India.
In March 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, the temple had to delay an external audit because of the "circuit breaker" measures forbidding non-essential activity in the country.
During the June 2020 audit, Senapathi told a member of the temple finance team he did not have the key to the safe and said he had likely left the key in India while visiting family. However, when the staff member insisted that the audit be done, Senapathi eventually confessed that he had taken the jewellery for pawning.
In the end, all the jewellery was returned to the temple, and the temple suffered no loss, the prosecutor said.
The member of the temple's finance team later filed a police report.
Senapathi resigned from his post as he felt guilty for pawning the temple's jewellery, added the prosecutor, who asked for seven years' jail, pointing to the high pawn value of the jewellery involved.
Defence lawyer Mohan Das Naidu said it all started when Senapathi wanted to help a friend raise funds for cancer and to help schools and temples in India.
He said Senapathi's intention was "never to deprive the temple" of its jewellery, but he was "caught up in this vicious cycle of pawning and redeeming, pawning and redeeming".
In sentencing, the judge said he could not ignore that the case involved about SGD 2 million, a significant amount and higher than any previous similar cases.
In a statement after the hearing, the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) said it had commissioned a gold audit after the incident at its four temples - Sri Mariamman, Sri Srinivasa Perumal, Sri Sivan and Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman.
The audit confirmed that all jewellery was adequately accounted for. An expert goldsmith also certified that the jewellery Senapathi had returned was authentic.
"HEB has further tightened its governance and internal controls to ensure its charitable assets remain protected," the report quoted the board as saying.
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Siddaramaiah, I will abide by Cong high command decision on leadership issue, says Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said both he and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will abide by any decision takeb by the Congress high command on the leadership issue in the state.
Speaking to reporters after returning from Delhi, the Congress state president said, he has full faith in the party leadership and that it would take an approapriate decision at the appropriate time.
The remarks comes amid speculations within the party and political circles about a possible leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, when the results for assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two assembly segments in the Karnataka are announced.
"I will not speak about political issues before the media. I have already said that when the time comes you will get to know. So I will not tell you," Shivakumar said in response to a question on discussions with the Congress high command during his Delhi visit over the last couple of days.
He asserted that there are no issues within the party, and whatever has been already decided will take place accordingly.
Responding to a question on senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi's reported statement about internal differences, the Deputy CM said, "nothing like that, they (high command) will do what they have to do at the appropriate time."
"There are no issues, we have faith in our party, they will do what they have to," he added.
Asked about the issue of leadership change as the government is about to complete three years in office, Shivakumar said, "... I have never discussed this issue. The CM and I have both said that we will accept whatever and whenever the high command decides, and we will abide by it."
He declined to comment when asked whether any "good news" can be expected by his birthday on May 15.
The leadership tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025. The speculation has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
Responding to a question on the BJP's criticism against the Congress government over its decision on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, alleging injustice to several communities and questioning its intent behind the revised quota formula, Shivakumar said the BJP could not do anything on internal reservation while in power, but the Congress has kept its promise.
"We have found a solution and tried to do justice to all sections among SCs. We have fulfilled the promise made and every one should go together," he said.
Shivakumar warned his party workers against erecting flex banners for his birthday on May 15.
"For May 15, I want to tell everyone that no one should put up flex banners or advertisements for my birthday. If flex are installed I will ensure that cases are registered by authorities against those responsible, whether they are party workers or followers....no one should put such things on roads, this is my personal request," he said, adding that he has asked commissioners of the city corporations to register cases and impose heavy fines.
