Man who threw Molotov cocktail at neighbour’s flat to appeal against reformative training sentence

SINGAPORE — A man who threw an improvised Molotov cocktail at his neighbour’s flat in Jurong West on the instructions of an unlicensed moneylender has been sentenced to reformative training.

However, Lu Mingduo, 20, will be appealing his sentence, the court heard on Thursday (Jan 3).

Lu’s lawyer Thomas Tan had urged the court to call for a probation suitability report, saying that reformative training might disrupt his work and studies.

But Principal District Judge Ong Hian Sun disagreed. “I am not minded to call for a probation report, considering the circumstances of the case,” said the judge.

He allowed a stay on sentence pending appeal proceedings, and granted bail of S$20,000.

Lu pleaded guilty in December to harassing his neighbour, Masor Omar, 64, on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender and causing hurt to another neighbour, 51-year-old Chua Kim Leng. 

Two other charges under the Moneylenders Act were taken into consideration for sentencing purposes.

ABOUT THE CASE

On Aug 7 last year, Lu received a phone call from a caller who asked to speak to his father. The caller identified himself as an unlicensed moneylender called Sunny.

Sunny’s identity remains unknown.

Sunny then alleged that Lu’s father lived in the unit next door and that he owed him money. In actual fact, Mr Masor’s son, who had taken a loan from Sunny in May, was the real target.

Sunny threatened to make trouble for Lu if the younger man did not harass the unit next door on his behalf. Lu then agreed to do so.

The next day, on Sunny’s instructions, he bought a bottle of paint thinner and made an improvised Molotov cocktail.

Lu then threw the bottle at the main door of Mr Masor’s sixth-floor flat, but it did not explode.

He was instructed by Sunny to throw it again, and this time, an electric bicycle parked outside the unit caught fire and exploded.

Mr Masor and his daughter climbed out of the master bedroom window and stood on the window ledge. They were later guided to safety by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

At around the same time, Mr Chua was having dinner at his 10th floor apartment. As thick smoke filled his home, he decided to leave and walked down the staircase as he thought the lift was not working.

When he reached the eighth storey staircase landing, he was overcome by the smoke and intense heat. He tried to walk up the staircase, but later collapsed at the 11th storey common corridor due to smoke inhalation and burn injuries.

Mr Chua spent 10 days in the hospital, and has incurred about S$600 in medical fees and costs so far. He is still required to return to the hospital for follow-up checks.

Lu, who had run downstairs after seeing the fire escalate, was later arrested by a plainclothes police officer at the first floor lift lobby.