Assault on cabby – NUS sacks law prof

Soosay

UPDATE: A National University of Singapore (NUS) spokesperson, in response to a query from The Online Citizen, said: “On Monday, 29 June 2015, NUS dismissed Dr Soosay with immediate effect.”

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has suspended one of its law professors since May for being involved in an assault on a taxi driver.

43-year old assistant professor, Sundram Peter Soosay, was sentenced to four months in jail on 26 June for assaulting 70-year old cab driver, Sun Chuan Hua on Christmas Day 2013.

Mr Sundram, originally from Malaysia, is also a Singapore PR, and has been teaching at the NUS’ Faculty of Law since 2008.

His assault on the elderly Mr Sun was so severe that the latter needed 17 days of medical leave to recover.

“I did not sense any remorse (in you), and you have a lackadaisical attitude towards compensation,” District Judge Victor Yeo told Mr Soosay in court on Friday.

When his case went to trial in January this year, NUS said it would “await the conclusion of legal proceedings before determining what action, if any, should be taken.”

Following Mr Soosay’s conviction on 29 May, the NUS said Mr Soosay has been suspended without pay, and the university “will now determine what further disciplinary action should be taken.”

While it is unclear what “further disciplinary action” has been taken against the assistant professor, The Online Citizen (TOC) understands that the NUS has begun deliberations into the disciplinary action, if any, to be taken against Mr Soosay.

Soosay’s profile on NUS website in May 2015

Mr Soosay’s profile had been available on the NUS website as recently as last week.

However, it seems to have since been removed. (See here.)

It is unclear if this means Mr Soosay’s services have been terminated by the university.

Mr Soosay is currently out on bail of S$25,000, pending his appeal of his sentence.

He could have been jailed for up to two years and fined a maximum of S$5,000 for the assault.

TOC has written to the NUS to enquire about the employment status of Mr Soosay. TOC will also write to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to enquire if any action will be taken with regards to Mr Soosay’s PR status.