Singapore, Feb 8 (IANS): Three Tamil-origin technicians have pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted theft of electric cables from a building they were sent to work at in Singapore.

Ezhilarasan Nagarajan, 26, and Radhakrishnan Elavarasan, 28, and Balasubramaniyan Nivas, 29, decided to steal electric cables from a building whose occupant was moving to another location the next day, The Straits Times reported.

In the process of stealing, driver Murugan Kothalam, 27, who had accompanied the three, died of electrocution.

Nagarajan and Elavarasan were fined S$1,000, while Nivas, who had another charge taken into consideration by the court, was fined S$1,500.

Deputy Public Prosecutor V Jesudevan told the court that Elavarasan and Nivas arrived at the Police National Service Department (PNSD) building in Still Road on October 15, 2020.

The duo were instructed by their supervisor to pass the other two men a wrench needed to remove the hose reel box. Nivas and Elavarsan had planned to cut loose the cables and sell them.

Nagarajan and Elavarasan bundled the cables and went to the main building to remove the hose reel.

Later, Nivas heard a crashing sound and discovered Kothalam standing on a ladder which was shaking.

Suspecting that Kothalam had been electrocuted, Nivas kicked the ladder and he fell on the ground, The Straits Times reported.

Elavarasan called the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Kothalam was taken to Changi General Hospital, where he died later that day.

In court on Monday, the lawyers representing each offender asked the judge for a low fine for their clients and cited their modest means.