In what might actually be a first for Singapore, a man was fined for eating a cigarette and obstructing the work of National Environment Agency (NEA) officers.
The incident of the strange snack took place on 18 March this year, at about 8:40 pm.
Man Eats Teen’s Cigarette & Tells Him to Run From NEA
53-year-old Ramamoorthy Reddiar Jayaraman was seated alone in the void deck of a Hougang HDB drinking beer, which is always a “good sign” when seen in news articles.
A teenager, whom he wasn’t related to, then approached him and started smoking a cigarette.
As any Singaporean would know, a lot of activities aren’t allowed at void decks from playing football to fighting. One of these banned activities is smoking like the teenager was doing.
Also, smoking is illegal unless you’re 21 and above, so the teen shouldn’t be smoking anywhere, not just a void deck.
This doubling-up of misdeeds meant the teen would probably be in trouble if any officers showed up for checks.
At 9 pm, two NEA officers showed up for checks.
One of them approached the teen, introduced herself, and told him that he was committing an offence. She asked for his particulars.
The teen gave the officer a “nervous” look but kept smoking.
After a second request for his details, Ramamoorthy told the teen to hand him the cigarette.
When the teen did, he ate it. I sure hope it wasn’t still lit or it would have been the spiciest dish he had eaten.
After the meal of nicotine, he asked the teenager to run away, which he complied with by fleeing the scene.
Unsurprisingly, he was taken to court for his actions.
Man Gets Fined S$1,000 For Obstructing NEA Officers by Eating Cigarette
Ramamoorthy pleaded guilty to one charge of obstructing an officer from exercising their power.
On 30 July, he represented himself in court, another “good sign” in criminal news.
Ramamoorthy had stated that he acted in the spur of the moment to help the teenager avoid a “blemished record at a tender age.”
To be honest, it was a real “bro move” to eat a literal cigarette to protect a teenager he didn’t know.
To defend himself in mitigation, Ramamoorthy argued that he didn’t know eating cigarettes was an offence in Singapore.
The District Judge responded by clarifying that Ramamoorthy was free to “eat all number of cigarettes” and that “the court has no issue” with copious cigarette consumption.
Good to know…
“You are here for the offence of obstructing the exercise of an NEA officer’s power.” The judge said emphatically.
Ramamoorthy also asked for leniency, claiming to be the sole breadwinner for his 84-year-old mother.
The judge sentenced him to a S$1,000 fine, which Ramamoorthy paid in full. For his first offence of the crime, he could have received a maximum fine of S$2,000.
It’s unclear what happened to the teen.
NEA officers have had several rough occasions regarding obstructing their authority. In 2022, a man smoking a cigarette in a void deck hurled racist remarks at the NEA officers who approached him
He should have just eaten it.
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