Man set fire to stall and lorry belonging to 'bully' then stayed in Malaysia for over 3 years
SINGAPORE — A director of a security and private investigation firm was jailed two years after he admitted to setting fire to a lorry and a wet market stall belonging to a person whom he considered “a bully”.
Ang Chin Tang, a 68-year-old Singaporean, had wanted to teach the vegetable stall owner, Peh Ah Hock, a lesson and take revenge for a friend who he claimed had been bullied by Peh.
Ang, director of Karma Security and Private Investigation Services, admitted to three charges of causing mischief by fire and an unrelated charge of stealing from the Departure Transit Area of Changi Airport Terminal 1 after returning from Kuala Lumpur. One charge of setting fire to a paper carton placed at the entrance of the Jurong West Market Association office, and two charges of criminal intimidation were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Ang first set fire to Peh’s lorry on 14 November 2015, after the Vice President of the Market Association had parked it at an open air carpark of Block 538 Jurong West Avenue 1. Taking some cardboard boxes near a rubbish chute, Ang placed the items under Peh’s lorry and set fire to them with a lighter. He then left the scene.
Peh’s daughter told him she heard an explosion and Peh discovered his lorry was on fire. Damage caused to the lorry’s tyres and cargo deck, as well to an adjacent car totalled around $10,000.
Undeterred, Ang set fire to the lorry again on 19 May 2016. He used a lighter to set fire to plastic bags found near the rubbish chute and threw the flaming bags towards Peh’s lorry, parked at the same location.
This time, the damage caused to the lorry and an adjacent car cost around $17,500.
The next day, Ang targetted Peh’s vegetable stall at the wet market. He picked up some newspapers and plastic bags near a dustbin in the market, rolled up the newspapers and placed them inside the plastic bags.
Ang then went to Peh’s stall, which was unmanned, and stuffed the plastic bags into plastic crates at the stall. He then used a lighter to light some matches, which were taped to several “AA” batteries, and threw them at the plastic crates.
He left the scene as the stall caught fire. The damage caused to the stall’s meal racks, cabinet and adjacent stalls were about $2,500.
Ang did not make restitution for the damages.
After committing the fire-related offences, Ang left Singapore for Malaysia on 14 June 2016. He remained in Malaysia when his son told him that the police were looking for him. He was arrested when he returned to Singapore on 28 January this year.
Separately, Ang stole two pens worth $40 from the Time Travel Store at Terminal 1, Departure Transit Area, Changi Airport, which he visited upon his return to Singapore on 10 September 2015. He had first bought pen refills but placed the two pens into his shirt pocket and left without making payment.
The supervisor at the store lodged a police report that two pens were stolen from a display shelf.
Some 13 days later, Ang called the police and handed over the stolen pens. He admitted to stealing them.
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