Man jailed 11 months for setting fire to 2 dumpsters, pile of rubbish

SINGAPORE — A man who lit a fire next to a hawker centre near Chin Swee Road in October last year went to sit on a bench and watch the blaze engulf a bin centre.

The man, Rajagopal Murugan, then kept watching as officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived to fight the fire, which occurred at around 7.40pm.

On Tuesday (Jan 21), Murugan, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of mischief by fire and was sentenced to 11 months' jail after telling the judge that he had been depressed at the time.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kwang Jia Min said that as a result of the Oct 11 fire next to Block 1 Jalan Kukoh Hawker Centre , the bins, walls, roof, piping, electrical cables and fixtures in the area sustained heat and smoke damage.

The cost of reinstating the bin centre was more than S$11,000.

OTHER FIRES

DPP Kwang revealed that the Jalan Kukoh fire was not the first fire Murugan had set.

He had previously set fire to discarded items outside the bin centre located at Block 13 York Hill, as well as a green dumpster bin beside the bin centre at Block 4 Jalan Minyak. These are in the same Chin Swee Road and Havelock Road neighbourhood as Jalan Kukoh.

These fires were comparatively small, and a cleaner, members of the public and police officers managed to put them out.

Still, the cost of repairing the damage caused to the York Hill bin centre amounted to S$6,420.

Murugan has not made restitution for the damage he caused.

The prosecution stated that the three fires took place over “a short span of time” but did not give more details.

Murugan, who was not represented by a lawyer, told District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim on Tuesday that he was suffering from depression and was an Institute of Mental Health patient at the time of his offending.

When pleading for a lighter sentence, he said: “My father has stage-four cancer. I am sorry for what I have done. I was going through depression at that time.”

But DPP Kwang asked for Murugan to be jailed for 12 months, pointing out that his culpability was high as he set three fires within a short span of time and the damage from his actions was extensive.

District Judge Ibrahim said that the sentence sought by the prosecution was fair, but she would adjust the sentence slightly downwards as Murugan had opted to plead guilty instead of claiming trial.