SINGAPORE — In acts of revenge for his friend who alleged that she was the victim of constant bullying by a fellow operator of a wet market stall, Ang Chin Tang set fire to Mr Peh Ah Hock’s stall and lorries.

Ang then fled to Malaysia when his son told him that the police were after him. He remained there for three-and-a-half years and was arrested in January when he returned to Singapore.

On Friday (Sept 4), Ang, the former director of Karma Security and Private Investigation Services, was sentenced to two years’ jail.

The 68-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of mischief by fire and another unrelated charge of shop theft. He had stolen two pens from a store in Changi Airport. 

Three other similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

HOW IT BEGAN

Ang had learnt from his friend, who worked in a wet market at Block 538 Jurong West Avenue 1, that Mr Peh was constantly bullying her.

Ang decided to teach Mr Peh a lesson. Mr Peh sold vegetables at the market and was the vice-president of the market association.

He set fire to Mr Peh’s lorries twice on Nov 14, 2015 and May 19, 2016.

The first time, he placed some cardboard boxes beneath a lorry, set them on fire with a lighter and quickly left.

Mr Peh’s daughter told him that she heard an explosion and, upon checking, he found the lorry burning. 

The fire, put out by firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, caused about S$10,000 in damages.

On the second occasion in 2016, Ang set fire to some plastic bags and threw them towards the front tyre of Mr Peh’s rented lorry.

This resulted in an estimated S$2,500 in damages to the vehicle and the vegetables in it. A nearby car was also affected, with damages of S$15,000.

The next day, Ang filled some plastic bags with newspapers, went to Mr Peh’s stall and stuffed the bags into plastic crates there. 

There was no one manning the stall.

Ang then lit some matches that were taped to batteries, threw them at the plastic crates and left.

The fire caused about S$2,500 in damages to the stall.

He has not paid for the damages arising from all three incidents.

Court documents showed that Ang called two other men about a fortnight later. 

He asked one of them if he was the market chairman, then threatened: “I tell you, you’d better not allow anybody to put things in the office, especially Ah Hock’s vegetables. If you let him (do so), later set fire to the office… If you do not handle this properly, I will burn your taxi as well.”

Ang fled to Malaysia on June 14, 2016, and returned to Singapore on Jan 28 this year.

For mischief by fire, he could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.