Unemployed man jailed 6 months for helping friend set door on fire
SINGAPORE — Egged on by his childhood friend, a 21-year-old unemployed man poured petrol in front of a Bishan flat, and then set the door on fire.
Manikandan R Gunasegaran – who was on bail for unrelated offences when he committed the mischief by fire – was sentenced to six months' jail on Friday (April 27).
On Jan 18, the night before the incident, Gunasegaran was out drinking with his friends at Duxton Road in Tanjong Pagar when he met Iswaran, an old friend who was previously in the same secret society.
According to court documents, Iswaran said that he had a problem with someone who was giving him and his family stress, and asked Gunasegaran to "disturb" the unit at Block 272 Bishan Street 24 by setting a fire at the corridor outside the flat.
Sometime after midnight, Gunasegaran went to carry out his friend's request. He took a container and some paper, and stole petrol from a motorcycle parked at the Bishan carpark. He drained the petrol out into the container.
At about 12.40am, he went up to the unit with his head covered to avoid identification on any police cameras, and poured the petrol in front of the door.
He lit the paper with a lighter and threw it on the floor, with the fire burning the main door, floor mat and slippers outside.
He fled five minutes later, and disposed the container along the way.
Mr Mohamed Noor Kasim, 60, who stays at the unit with his daughter, only found out about the fire when he left for work at 6am. He saw burn marks on the floor and main door, and detected the smell of kerosene.
He woke his daughter, 29-year-old Nur Shahitha Mohamed Noor, and she called the police.
Gunasegaran did not compensate the victims for the damages, which amounted to S$915.
For mischief by fire, he could have been jailed for up to seven years.
