Teen given probation for setting off fireworks in Bukit Batok on Deepavali
SINGAPORE — A father and son who went to Johor Baru in late October last year to buy festive items for Deepavali also brought home a box of fireworks called “25 Shot Cake”.
On the evening of the public holiday, the pair set up the fireworks near the void deck of Block 194B Bukit Batok West Avenue 6.
A. Hariprasanth, 19, then lit a wick that sent 25 rocket fireworks shooting up to a height of about nine to 10 storeys before they exploded in mid-air.
The pyrotechnics display lasted about two minutes. No injuries or property damage was incurred in the act.
At the State Courts on Tuesday (16 April), Hariprasanth – who is waiting to enlist into full-time national service – was sentenced to one year of probation.
He and his father, 54-year-old Alagappan Singaram, pleaded guilty last month to discharging fireworks under the Dangerous Fireworks Act. Alagappan, a cleaner, was subsequently fined $5,000.
Cases involving three suspects pending
The pair were among six people who were charged last November for setting off dangerous fireworks to celebrate Deepavali last year.
Last week, 29-year-old Jeevan Arjoon was fined $5,000 for discharging fireworks and also jailed three weeks for giving false information to the police. Another count of giving false information to the police was taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The chemical surveyor had bought three “Single Shot” fireworks and one box of “49 Shot Cake” fireworks from an unknown peddler at a bazaar in Little India.
He lit up the fireworks in the early hours of the morning at an open field in front of Block 513A Yishun Street 51, and also tried to implicate another man during police investigations.
Meanwhile, the cases involving the other three suspects are pending.
Elvis Xavier Fernandez, 25, allegedly discharged a bundle of six “whistling fire sparkles” on 6 November at the void deck of Block 18 Joo Seng Road.
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Thiagu Selvarajoo stands accused of setting off dangerous fireworks shortly before midnight on 5 November in Gloucester Road, near Little India. Siva Kumar Subramaniam, 48, allegedly abetted Thiagu by placing a box of “Happy Boom” fireworks on a road divider in Gloucester Road, near Little India.
If convicted, each suspect may be jailed up to two years and may face a fine of between $2,000 and $10,000.
Zero tolerance against acts that endanger lives
The Singapore Police Force had said in a statement after the men were charged that it is a crime to “possess, sell, transport, send, deliver, distribute or import any dangerous fireworks”.
“The police have zero tolerance against acts that endanger the lives or safety of others as well as cause undue alarm to the public, and will not hesitate to take action against those who blatantly disregard the law,” it said.
In 1968, the use of certain kinds of fireworks were prohibited after they became a public safety issue. A total ban on the use of fireworks was enforced on 1 August 1972, when the Dangerous Fireworks Act came into operation.
The move came two years after an incident involving firecrackers killed six people and injured 25 others on Chinese New Year in 1970. The accident also cost up to $560,390 in property damage.
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