Mr Erramalli Ramesh. How do we even begin? The guy’s rich, having bought a condo for a whopping $1.5 million. And just like my boss any rich person, the rich get richer because they count every single cent, which could be why Ramesh refused to let his guest pay $10 for overnight parking.
But you know the saga. You know what’s happened next, and you know everything about him now, from how he got his Singapore citizenship to how often he poops in his $1.5 million condo.
What you want to know is the closure: is he going to be punished for verbally abusing an innocent guard who was just doing his job?
Well, today, there’s a closure.
Ramesh Condo Case Closure: Ramesh & 4 People Who Harassed Him Given Stern Warning
Today (17 January 2020), the police have made a decision in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
They’re not going to charge Ramesh for wearing a swimsuit-like singlet, though the fashion police could still be investigating the serious offence of fashion-fail.
Instead, for the verbal abuse that was seen online more times than Singapore Social, he would be issued with a stern warning for intentionally causing harassment.
But he’s not the only one who got a light slap on the wrist
4 People Who Harassed Ramesh Given Stern Warnings as Well
Bet you didn’t expect that, eh?
Despite receiving death threats, Ramesh did not want to pursue the matter, but the police still carried out investigations because anyhowly giving death threats is not goody.
They found four men, aged between 19 to 56, who had harassed Ramesh.
Two of the men were issued stern warnings for intentionally harassing Ramesh.
The other two weren’t so lucky; they had threatened Ramesh and his family with death and violence, and so were given 12-month conditional warnings.
Reader Bao: Conditional warnings? That sound familiar. Isn’t that what Preetipls got as well?
Yes, Reader Bao: It’s the same warning that Preetipls received. In other words, if these two men got charged for another harassment offence in 12 months, they will still be charged for this this current offence of harassing Ramesh as well.
Why the Ramesh Case Became So Viral
If you’re a time traveller who skipped 2019 because 2019 sucks, here’s why this case has become a coffee shop topic for months.
It all started with a viral video of Ramesh scolding a security guard, Mr Steven Heng, as he was told that his guest had to pay a $10 overnight parking fee.
Everyone gets angry every now and then, so a video of a man losing his cool is common.
However, people were triggered because Ramesh had said that he bought the condo for $1.5 million and it’s not a HDB, which netizens interpreted as a belittlement of HDB flats.
Soon after, Mr Heng’s security company was replaced, but it turned out that the plan to switch security firm was done before the fateful incident.
Even with the doxxing laws, people dug out information about Ramesh, and claimed that his educational qualifications were fake. This was debunked by the ICA that said that there was no evidence that he had falsified his educational qualifications, and he had got his Singapore citizenship due to his marriage with a Singaporean and not due to his work.
His employer did not respond publicly to the incident; instead, they sent an internal memo to their employees, reminding them to “demonstrate the highest standards, including respect and dignity for others…inside and outside of the workplace.”
The saga also sparked a conversation about the protection of security guards in Singapore.
