A man in his sixties claimed that his neighbour was talking too loudly, which disturbed his peace, and hence he set fire to her house. Shocked by his action, his female neighbour immediately fled the house with her three children and called the police for help.
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The incident occurred in a unit on the fifth floor of Block 149, Toa Payoh Lorong 1. It was first reported by Shin Min Daily News last year on 24 March at about 8pm.
According to Zaobao, the man faced seven charges, and he pleaded guilty to four of them on Tuesday (16 January). The remaining charges will be taken into consideration. He was sentenced to 17 months and four weeks in prison on Tuesday.
The investigation revealed that around 7.30pm, a 32-year-old woman, her husband, and three children aged nine, seven, and five were at home when they suddenly smelled a burning smell outside the house.
The woman then saw the man standing outside her unit with some paper and a lighter. She told the man to leave and closed the door.
However, the man refused to leave. Instead, he lit the paper in his hand and placed it on his neighbour’s window. The fire started spreading as there was flammable paper which was covering the window.
The woman opened her door to check where the smell was coming from and saw that her window was on fire. She also saw the man standing near the door holding a knife. She immediately left the unit with her children and called the police for help.
The man said that he started the fire because his female neighbour always spoke loudly, disturbing his peace.
Reportedly, after receiving the report, the police searched for the man and subsequently found him in a coffee shop at Block 177, Toa Payoh Lorong 7. When the man saw the police, he charged toward the police with a knife. A police officer who was 2 meters away from the man used a stun gun to stop him. He refused to be arrested despite being shot by the stun gun.
The police eventually suppressed him and took away a 28-centimetre-long knife, a Swiss Army knife, thinner, a hammer and a newspaper that were found on him.
