Killer litter: Tanjong Pagar condo cleaner jailed for throwing glass bottles from 36th floor

SINGAPORE — Acting out because of “stress” over work and family issues, a cleaner at Icon Residence condominium in Tanjong Pagar threw several glass bottles and plastic water bottles from the 36th floor of two towers there.

Jimmy Tan Kah Hian’s killer-litter projectiles nearly hit some people but ultimately did not harm anyone.

The 43-year-old was jailed for 12 weeks on Thursday (June 16). He pleaded guilty to two charges of endangering human life by a rash act, with another two similar charges taken into consideration for sentencing.

This case came two months after Andrew Gosling, an Australian, was jailed for five-and-a-half years for an unrelated killer-litter case.

Gosling had tossed a glass wine bottle from the seventh-floor lift landing of Spottiswoode 18 condominium in the Outram area, after entertaining hostile thoughts about the Muslim community. The bottle struck a 73-year-old grandfather on the head and killed him.

As for the present case, the court heard that Tan started working at Icon condo in June 2020. He was routinely deployed to clean various levels across both of its towers.

Last year and this year, the police received a number of reports about killer litter thrown from the upper levels.

When Tan was arrested on May 10, he admitted to doing this since January last year, claiming that he did it because he felt stressed over his work and family issues.

Earlier on Feb 10, he came across a carton of 500ml Evian mineral water bottles that had been left near the 36th-floor lift lobby of Tower 1.

He then picked up 17 bottles, which were full, and tossed them out of a window near the lift lobby towards the lower levels.

Five of the bottles landed on a railing and ledge of the 32nd floor, while the others landed in open areas on the 7th and 31st floors. All of them broke open upon impact.

A staff member from the management office and another cleaner were nearly struck by the bottles.

Another staff member called the police, saying that the condo's security team was aware of what happened but that it had no closed-circuit television cameras to identify the culprit.

Then, on May 6, Tan came across three empty glass wine bottles and an empty glass bottle of olive oil at the same lift lobby.

He similarly threw them out of a window near the lift lobby. A resident was on the seventh floor when one of the bottles landed directly in front of him, causing him to run off to prevent himself from being hit by more bottles. 

A couple of bottles also landed on the 31st floor near a fitness corner where some residents were exercising.

Tan was arrested on May 10 following extensive ground inquiries by the police.

For each offence of endangering human life by a rash act, he could have been jailed up to six months or fined up to S$2,500, or punished with both.