Man Sets Fire To Neighbour’s House In Toa Payoh For Being Too Noisy
On 24 Mar last year, 62-year-old Tee Gee Chuan was tasered by police after he set fire to his neighbour’s fifth-floor unit at Block 149, Toa Payoh Lorong 1.
Tee said he set the fire as his female neighbour was being noisy.
Pleading guilty to four out of the seven charges he faced for his offences, he received a jail sentence of 17 months and four weeks.
Man sets fire to Toa Payoh house
The incident reportedly occurred on 24 Mar last year, at the fifth-floor unit of Block 149, Toa Payoh Lorong 1 at around 7.30pm.
A 32-year-old woman, her husband, and three children aged nine, seven, and five were at home when they detected a burning stench coming from outside their flat.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
The woman then found Tee standing outside the unit holding a couple of papers and a lighter.
Following which, she asked him to leave and shut the door.
However, Tee refused to leave, instead lighting the paper and placing it at the woman’s window facing the corridor.
The woman opened the door after realising that the smell of smoke was still in the air and found that her window was on fire.
In addition, she spotted Tee standing within the immediate vicinity of the door to her flat, holding a knife.
The woman escaped the area with her children and contacted the police for assistance.
Rushed towards police officers with knife
Police eventually found Tee in a coffee shop at Block 177, Toa Payoh Lorong 7.
Upon seeing the officers, he took out a knife and rushed towards them, ignoring their warnings to stop.
The officers shot him with a taser, causing him to fall while still resisting arrest.
They ultimately managed to subdue him, taking away the knife he was holding which had a 28cm-long blade.
Other items the officers found in his possession included a Swiss Army knife, paint thinner, a hammer, and newspapers.
Tee was also responsible for a separate incident at a senior centre at Block 149, Toa Payoh Lorong 1.
At around 4.30pm on the same day, he was riding his bicycle when his handlebars hit the tape that cordoned off the centre’s entrance.
He then entered the centre and attempted to overturn a table.
Tee eventually picked up a few chairs and threw them around the area, knocking over a computer screen near the entrance.
He had also previously received a seven-month-long jail sentence for possessing a dangerous weapon.
Arsonist jailed for 17 months and 4 weeks
On 16 Jan, Tee was sentenced to 17 months and four weeks in jail.
He pleaded guilty to four charges which included engaging in reckless conduct endangering others, committing arson, using violence to obstruct a civil servant from performing their duties, and violating the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Assault Weapons Act.
In addition, Tee said he set the fire as his female neighbour always spoke loudly and “disturbed his peace.”
Arguing for a longer imprisonment of 19 months, the prosecution said Tee had brought a weapon to a crowded coffee shop and attempted to attack police using it.
Having also been convicted of carrying a knife in 2021, the prosecution noted that Tee had a history of committing arson.
He had chosen to set fire to the unit even while knowing that someone was on its premises.
As a result, the prosecution argued for a harsher punishment so that it could serve as a deterrent.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News. and Google Maps.
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