Jail for man who smashed neighbours' windows after thinking they smoked during circuit breaker period
File photo of the State Courts in Singapore. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: Angered by what he thought was cigarette smoke wafting from his neighbours' flats, a man smashed their windows with a golf club, causing a woman to be cut by a glass shard.
For his actions, 52-year-old Yee Choon Wah was sentenced to four weeks' jail on Wednesday (Jun 10).
He pleaded guilty to one charge of causing hurt to his neighbour by smashing her window and causing a glass shard to cut her arm.
Three other charges were taken into consideration: Of committing mischief by smashing another neighbour's window with the club, leaving his home without reasonable excuse to go to the corridor outside the flats, and failing to wear a mask in the corridor.
The court heard that Yee was jobless at the time of the offences. At about 6.30pm on Apr 18, he was home when he thought he smelled cigarette smoke.
Yee then took a golf club from his living room and left his home to smash the windows of two neighbours' flats.
Court documents did not specify if there was actually any cigarette smoke.
He smashed the window of a woman's flat, while she was inside. The glass panel shattered and a glass shard fell and cut the woman's forearm.
The damage cost the woman S$400, court documents said.
Yee also smashed another man's window with his golf club, causing S$400 in damage.
At the time he left his house to smash the windows, it was an offence under the COVID-19 Regulations to leave one's household without a reasonable excuse.
He contravened a control order by doing so, and also broke another COVID-19 regulation by failing to wear a mask his mouth and nose while outside his flat.
An eyewitness saw Yee at the corridor smashing a window, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Norman Yew.
Yee has not made any restitution to the victims. The prosecutor asked for four weeks' jail, saying that the woman was not only hurt but also suffered damage to her property.
For causing hurt by a rash act endangering human life, he could have been jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
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