Man jailed for starting fire with lit cigarette, damaging 2 cars at HDB block

SINGAPORE: A man was jailed six months on Friday (Mar 4) for throwing a lit cigarette into a storage area of a Housing Board block, causing a fire that damaged two cars parked nearby.

Chuah Seng Chu, 52, pleaded guilty in a district court to a charge of substantially contributing to the risk of a fire through a negligent act.

The court heard that on Sep 10, 2020, Chuah left his house at 8pm and went to a coffee shop at Block 31, Kelantan Lane. He drank alcohol and loitered there until around 4am, when he walked home.

On the way home, Chuah, who was a dishwasher at the time, decided to take a smoke break. He sat at the foot of a staircase at Block 28A, Kelantan Road and smoked a cigarette.

He then threw the cigarette butt, which was still lit, into a gated storage area next to the staircase that was filled with various items.

This started a fire in the storage area at around 4.10am, which spread to the staircase, the surrounding area and two cars parked at a carpark nearby.

A police camera captured Chuah walking away from the scene at around 4.15am.

The fire was reported to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) at about 4.30am by a delivery driver who had just completed a job and spotted the fire while driving away.

The SCDF deployed fire-fighting vehicles and firefighters to the scene, as well as fire investigators. The blaze was put out by firefighters using a hose line jet.

The fire caused damage of about S$13,900 to a Toyota Isis, which sustained heat and smoke damage to its rear, rear right tyre, rear window and boot.

It also caused about S$20,900 worth of damage to a Volkswagen Passat, which sustained smoke damage. No restitution has been made to the car owners.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jingxi asked for six months' jail, pointing out the significant financial loss suffered by the victims and the damage to public property owned by HDB.

There was high risk of potential harm to human life and safety because the fire happened at the ground floor of a HDB block in the early hours of the morning, when people were probably asleep, she said.

She also said Chuah's degree of negligence was high, as it was apparent that the storage area was not a rubbish bin and its contents were visible through the gate, such that he would have known his actions would cause a fire.

Ms Tay also highlighted that Chuah had previously been given 15 months of probation for two counts of mischief by fire in 2011, where his actions were similar to the present case.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Audrey Koo of Populus Law pointed to an Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist report submitted in Chuah's 2011 case, which found him to be mentally disabled.

She asked for leniency given his mental disability, seeking three months' jail instead.

In response, the prosecution said the psychiatrist report did not find a link between Chuah's condition and the offences in the 2011 case.

Instead, the psychiatrist found that those offences were the "product of an attitude of irresponsibility and lack of civic-mindedness", she said.

The judge noted the extent of property damage, potential risk to life and safety, and the wastage of public resources to deal with the fire in giving his sentence.