S'porean man, 36, jailed for smearing luncheon meat along corridor after 'noise' from neighbours' children

A Singaporean man, 36, was sentenced to 14 weeks' jail on Feb. 11 for smearing pork luncheon meat along the common corridor of his flat, in an attempt to make his Malay-Muslim neighbours get "bad karma".

He was upset by the noise caused by the neighbours' children playing along the corridor, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

He pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in conduct that wounds the religious feelings of persons in Singapore, and one count of using abusive language towards a public servant.

Luncheon meat incident

The man, Vikneswaran V Moganaval, lived along the same corridor as the victim, the children's mother, at a HDB block in Woodlands, according to charge sheets.

The victim lived with her husband, three children, mother-in-law, sister and helper, all of whom are Malay-Muslim.

Vikneswaran was said to be upset that two of the children, aged four and seven, often played along the common corridor, generating noise.

He had previously engaged with the Community Policing Unit (CPU) over the noise dispute and reportedly initially felt like the intervention had improved the situation, but became upset with the children's noise again on Oct. 20, 2025, which fell on Deepavali.

He felt aggrieved as it was his festive day and claimed to have cancelled a gathering that was supposed to happen at his home.

At about 7:30pm that day, he called the CPU while the children were playing in the corridor.

The children returned home about 15 minutes later, after which the CPU arrived and engaged with Vikneswaran and the victim, then left.

At about 8:54pm, Vikneswaran again felt upset at the victim's family and what he deemed an insufficient resolution of the noise dispute.

Knowing that the family was Muslim, and that consumption and contact with pork is forbidden in their religion, he intended to express his anger at them by throwing pork luncheon meat at the victim's flat.

He ended up pouring a can of luncheon meat over the common corridor before smearing it across the ground.

He had intended to create a "physical barrier" of the luncheon meat in front of his flat to stop the children from playing there, court documents stated.

Police called

Still unsatisfied with his actions, Vikneswaran called the police at around 10:15pm, stating, "I feel like throwing luncheon meat at my neighbour’s unit. I need police."

He also told them, "send police now if not I will confront them”.

When police arrived, he told them that he intended to throw another can of pork luncheon meat at the victim's flat, but was warned not to do so by the police.

They also ordered Vikneswaran to clean up the smeared luncheon meat in the corridor, but he refused.

The Town Council was later called to ask for a cleaner to attend to the scene.

Bad karma

When questioned by the police about his actions, Vikneswaran said he intended for the victim's children to step on the luncheon meat accidentally, return home with the meat on their footwear, and cause their family "bad karma".

Later that evening, the victim's sister looked at the smeared substance on the floor but was not sure what it was.

The following day, the victim's helper and seven-year-old daughter walked over the meat on the way to school, as did her husband and four-year-old son and the victim herself, while carrying her one-year-old son.

A cleaner only arrived to clean up the meat after all these had occurred.

When the victim discovered that the substance was pork luncheon meat, she reportedly felt very angry and that her family's religion had been disrespected.

Vikneswaran was arrested on Oct. 21, 2025 and charged in court on Oct. 23, 2025.

He was then remanded at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) from Oct. 23, 2025 to Nov. 6, 2025.

He was then released on bail on Nov. 19, 2025, but voluntarily asked for the bail to be revoked in February 2026, and has remained in remand since.

For engaging in a conduct that he knew could wound the religious feelings of the victim's family, he faced an imprisonment term of up to five years, a fine, or both.

Verbally abused public servant

Vikneswaran also faced a charge for the use of abusive language towards a public servant, in an incident that occurred on Feb. 8, 2025.

He had called the police after locking himself out of his grandmother's house while drinking that morning, demanding that they come down to help him unlock the unit.

After being told twice that the issue was not an emergency and that he should call his own locksmith for assistance instead, he used vulgarities on the emergency communications officer during the third call before hanging up.

For his actions, he was charged under the Protection from Harassment Act 2014, which made him liable for a fine not exceeding S$5,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.

Apologised in court

The prosecution sought 14 weeks' jail in court, citing Vikneswaran's "immaturity" and "disgraceful actions", CNA reported.

It was also revealed that Vikneswaran had previous convictions for making a nuisance 995 call and using vulgarities on a police officer.

In response, Vikneswaran apologised and said he was deeply regretful and remorseful.

He added that he has since undergone programmes that taught him how to handle such situations and has applied for a work-study diploma.

Top images via Canva (for illustration purposes only)