SINGAPORE — Upset that his neighbour confronted his mother over a prayer altar that she had been looking after on behalf of the neighbour, a man retaliated by pouring a bottle of kerosene at the front door of the neighbour's flat before setting it on fire.

The door, the nearby walls, ceiling and other miscellaneous items were damaged by the fire. No one was injured. 

In court on Thursday (Aug 10), Patrick Francis, 50, was sentenced to 13 days' jail after pleading guilty to a charge of committing mischief. 

The court heard that Francis' 76-year-old mother, Ms Marina Pereira Francis John Pereira, was living at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat on the first floor at the time. Court documents did not state the location of the housing block.

The neighbour, Mr Dharam RD, 63, lived together with his girlfriend Tang Yee Peng, 50, on another floor of the same block. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) John Lu said that the four of them have known one another for about six years before the incident.

As part of her religious rites, Ms Tang asked for a small space at Ms Pereira’s unit to place a Chinese prayer altar. Francis and his family agreed with the arrangement.

The court heard that this arrangement continued until Ms Tang had to return to Malaysia when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020. 

During Ms Tang’s absence, the Francis family continued to maintain the prayer altar until she returned on May 7 last year. 

However, Ms Tang noticed that the lock on the prayer altar had been changed. She then confronted Francis’ mother about this, which angered her son. 

The next day at around 12am, Francis and his mother went to Ms Tang’s home. He knocked on the door and started shouting in Tamil. 

The couple did not open the door and only looked at him through the peephole from their door, DPP Lu said.

A short while later, his mother went back to her own flat because she was tired. 

Frustrated by the lack of response, Francis went down to the first floor of the block and walked to the refuse chute next to his mother’s unit.

He picked up a brown glass bottle filled with kerosene and returned to Ms Tang’s flat. Then, he poured the liquid over the doorstep of their flat, took out a lighter and set the main door ablaze.  

After he was done, he left and discarded the bottle at a nearby grass patch. 

Noticing the fire from inside the flat, Mr Dharam immediately called the police, who managed to put out the fire upon their arrival.

DAMAGE TO FLAT 

DPP Lu said that the lower section of the door and an umbrella were directly damaged by the fire.

The lower section of the main gate, floor tiles, the interior of the main door, walls, ceiling and other miscellaneous items within the vicinity of the main door were also damaged in varying degrees due to the heat and smoke, he added. 

Francis later made a S$1,000 compensation to Mr Dharam on July 18. 

Addressing the court, DPP Lu said that it was "entirely fortuitous" that the police put out the fire before matters got worse.

"The accused’s act of arson could have easily gotten out of control and caused incalculable damage to not just the unit, but the entire block," he said. 

He sought a sentence of between three and four weeks' jail. 

However, the man’s lawyer, Mr Divanan Narkunan of Phoenix Law Corporation, argued that the actual harm caused was low. 

He added that when Ms Tang confronted Francis’ mother, “certain profanities” were used on the older woman, which was the reason behind Francis’ anger. 

The couple had also promised to apologise to the older woman but despite these assurances, an apology was not made, Mr Divanan said.

For committing mischief, Francis could have been jailed up to two years or fined, or both.