Suspended Indian-origin lawyer charged with 4 cases for slapping woman in temple

An Indian-origin lawyer, who has already been suspended from practising in connection with some other case, has been charged with four different offences under law by the State Courts

An Indian-origin lawyer, who has already been suspended from practising in connection with some other case, has been charged with four different offences under law by the State Courts for allegedly slapping a woman on her cheek at a Hindu temple in Singapore.

Ravi Madasamy, who is also known as M Ravi, faced one charge for voluntarily causing hurt, one for disorderly behaviour in public and two under the Protection from Harassment Act at a Hindu temple in downtown South Bridge Road after the incident on Friday, according to a report by The Straits Times on Sunday.

The 54-year-old lawyer had allegedly slapped the woman at Sri Mariamman Temple, where he is also accused of shouting vulgarities and using indecent language, the news report said, adding, he then purportedly called another woman at the temple a prostitute, with the intention of causing harassment.

Prior to this incident, Ravi had allegedly used abusive words against a man along Pagoda Street in the temple vicinity by shouting a vulgarity in Tamil at him, also intending to cause harassment.

Ravi was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health on Saturday for medical examination, and will be produced in the court on September 29.

He has two other similar charges pending from July 2023. The lawyer is currently facing the suspension of five years, maximum in such cases, for making “baseless and grave” allegations that undermine the integrity of Singapore’s justice system against the Attorney-General, prosecutors and the Law Society, the Straights Times said.