A 30-year-old man not happy with the news of his ex-girlfriend getting married to someone else arrived at the victim’s (groom) house and locked the main gate with a bicycle lock, set his shoe rack on fire.
According to CNA, Surenthiran Sugumaran, 30, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Oct 18) to one count of mischief by fire, with a second charge of wrongful confinement taken into consideration for sentencing.
WHAT HAPPENED :
The court was informed that Surenthiran learned of his ex-girlfriend’s wedding from an Instagram post.
“Out of anger and jealousy, he planned to lock the main gate of his ex-girlfriend’s husband-to-be and set a fire to cause inconvenience to the groom ahead of the wedding ceremony”, CNA reported.
In the early hours of March 12, 2022, Surenthiran put petrol in an empty bottle and drove to the victim’s residence in Jurong West while wearing a black hoodie and long pants.
He pulled the hood over his face after parking his motorcycle in order to avoid being seen on the closed-circuit television cameras that were installed throughout the elevator lobby.
To avoid being seen by police cameras, he first rode the elevator to the 12th floor before climbing the stairs to the 13th floor.
S$410 Estimated Loss
Around 4.40 am, Surenthiran used a bicycle lock to lock the victim’s main gate before setting a shoe rack outside on fire with petrol.
He then walked down the stairs, took the lift to the ground floor and threw the lighter in the bushes before riding home.
Six pairs of shoes and one pair of slippers were damaged in the fire, with total losses to the victim estimated at about S$410, according to CNA report.
Due to the substantial threat that the offence of mischief by fire posed, the prosecutor requested a jail sentence of six to nine months for Surenthiran.
Crime Was Planned
He emphasised that Surenthiran had used petrol as an accelerant and claimed that this is due to the “uncontrollable character of fire.”
He had also locked the gate to the house, so if the fire had spread, the result for the residents inside would have been “extremely grave with no accessible route of escape”.
In order to obtain the petrol and avoid being caught by the police, the accused made steps to prove that the crime was planned, the prosecution added.
In order to show mercy and leniency, the defence requested a lighter sentence. Surenthiran will return to court for sentencing in December. For mischief by fire, he could be jailed for up to seven years and fined.
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