Man admits beginning fireplace at groom’s house on ex-girlfriend’s wedding ceremony day

SINGAPORE: After listening to that his ex-girlfriend was getting married, a person went to the groom’s house within the early hours of their wedding ceremony day with the intention to begin a fireplace.

Surenthiran Sugumaran, 30, pleaded responsible on Tuesday (Oct 18) to at least one rely of mischief by fireplace, with a second cost of wrongful confinement considered for sentencing.

The court docket heard that Surenthiran found via an Instagram publish that his ex-girlfriend was getting married the subsequent day.

Out of anger and jealousy, he deliberate to lock the primary gate of his ex-girlfriend’s husband-to-be and set a fireplace to trigger inconvenience to the groom forward of the marriage ceremony.

Surenthiran stuffed an empty bottle with petrol and headed to the sufferer’s house in Jurong West within the wee hours of Mar 12, 2022, wearing a black hoodie and lengthy pants. 

After parking his motorbike, he drew the hood over his face to keep away from being caught on closed-circuit tv cameras that have been across the carry foyer.

He took the carry to the twelfth flooring earlier than strolling up the steps to the thirteenth storey, to keep away from detection by police cameras.

At about 4.40am, Surenthiran locked the sufferer’s foremost gate with a bicycle lock, earlier than pouring petrol onto a shoe rack exterior the unit and setting it on fireplace.

He then walked down the steps, took the carry to the bottom flooring and threw the lighter within the bushes earlier than using house.

Six pairs of sneakers and one pair of slippers have been broken within the fireplace, with whole losses to the sufferer estimated at about S$410.

The prosecutor sought six to 9 months’ jail for Surenthiran, citing the intense hazard posed by the offence of mischief by fireplace.

He mentioned this stems from the “uncontrollable nature of fireside”, highlighting that Surenthiran had used an accelerant within the type of petrol.

He had additionally locked the gate to the home, so if the hearth had unfold, the consequence for the residents inside would have been “extraordinarily grave with no accessible route of escape”.

The prosecutor added that the offence was premeditated, pointing to how the accused took steps to acquire the petrol and keep away from police detection.

The defence requested for a shorter jail time period, asking the court docket to indicate mercy and leniency.

Surenthiran will return to court docket for sentencing in December.

For mischief by fireplace, he might be jailed for as much as seven years and fined.