Singapore

A Singapore court on Monday sentenced an Indian-origin man to nine months’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to impersonating a prison officer in emails sent to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and the Secretariat of the Singapore Parliament.

The accused, Prakash Paramasivam (25), sent the emails seeking assistance in relation to his previous convictions, claiming he had been wrongly convicted, the prosecution said.

Between 2018 and 2023, Prakash had repeatedly been in and out of jail for offences including criminal intimidation by anonymous communication, the prosecutor told the court.

In a separate incident, he also impersonated a prison officer in an email sent to Desmond Lee, who was then the National Development Minister, seeking help in family-related matters, according to a report by The Straits Times.

Prakash was additionally accused of producing a fake medical certificate. The offence was uncovered after police contacted the named doctor, who denied issuing any such certificate.

He was arrested on July 8, 2025, and has remained in remand since then.

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Seeking a deterrent sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Chua told the court that Prakash was a “serial and habitual offender” with a tendency to send false and misleading messages to third parties.