• Winston Ang Zhiwei first stuck a piece of wood in the keyhole of his neighbour's letterbox
• The police installed a closed-circuit television camera there to catch him in the acts
• He claimed he acted after hearing footsteps thumping down from the victims’ unit at night

SINGAPORE — Unhappy with a married couple living in the Clementi flat above his, Winston Ang Zhiwei began what a prosecutor called a “sustained campaign” of harassment against them.

He first inserted a piece of wood into the keyhole of their letterbox, preventing them from opening it.

He then scratched insulting words on the same letter box and also scratched their car, damaging it to the tune of S$500.

Ang, who worked as a Foodpanda delivery driver at the time last year, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail on Thursday (Aug 13).

The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to three charges of harassment and mischief, with another mischief charge considered for sentencing.

His bad relationship with his neighbours purportedly began two years ago due to leaking pipes from the Housing and Development Board’s Home Improvement Programme, the court heard.

He committed his first offence on March 26 last year.

Sometime that evening, he inserted the piece of wood into the letterbox’s keyhole. The entire keyhole mechanism had to be replaced at a cost of S$100.

The victim called the police, stating that it was not the first time someone had stuck something into the keyhole. She also claimed it was the fifth reported incident of mischief.

She then discovered a powdery or dried liquid stain on the letterbox a few days later. In light of this, the police decided to install a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera facing it to find out who the perpetrator was.

Ang struck again on June 27 last year.

He scratched the letterbox with a key or pen, and left a pair of vulgar words there. The damage amounted to S$150.

About a month later on July 21, Ang recognised the couple’s Toyota Wish in the carpark and scratched its left front side and back end.

The victim called the police again, adding that she had not reported another scratch made earlier in May.

Ang had denied committing any offence when he was first interviewed on July 5. However, on Aug 28, he was confronted with the CCTV footage of him scribbling on the letter box.

He then claimed he committed the acts after hearing footsteps thumping down from his victims’ unit at night. He did not report any other issues.

He also admitted that he should have reported his concerns to the police instead of taking it out on his neighbours, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chong Kee En told the court.

‘DID SOME FOOLISH ACTS’: LAWYER

The prosecutor said that while mischief offences normally attract fines, there were multiple reasons why imprisonment was necessary in this case.

Ang had carried out a “sustained campaign” and “consistently harassed” his victims, causing distress and inconvenience. He was uncooperative with the authorities as well, DPP Chong said.

Ang’s lawyer, Mr Leong Keng Kheong, said in mitigation that his client did not identify his neighbours by name when writing the vulgar words on the letterbox.

However, the lawyer acknowledged that it had caused distress.

“My client did some foolish acts and caused a bad neighbour feud. He lost control of himself,” Mr Leong told District Judge Edgar Foo.

“I hope Your Honour can give some encouragement for my client to repent and make good. The sentence should not be so hard and bitter that he cannot look forward to repairing the relationship,” he added.

In response, DPP Chong said he did not think Ang even knew his neighbours’ names till court proceedings were brought against him.

Just by scratching on the letterbox, those living in their block would know they were the target, the prosecutor added.

Ang has made restitution of S$500, while Mr Leong gave an undertaking to pay back the remaining S$250 in property damage.

For causing mischief, he could have been jailed for up to a year, fined or both.

Offenders can now receive up to two years’ jail if they are convicted of committing mischief after amendments to the Penal Code kicked in this year.

For harassment, Ang could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$5,000 or both.