Enraged that his marriage was going up in flames, a man went ahead and made the metaphor literal by setting his matrimonial bed on fire.
For committing mischief by fire (that engulfed his whole flat as well as several neighbouring units), 44-year-old Koh Chong Huat was sentenced to four months in jail, Channel NewsAsia reports.
Back in August, the taxi driver had been in a row with his wife, who left the flat after the squabble. Incensed by the fight, he poured thinner onto the mattress in the master bedroom. He didn’t even need to do much to set the fire alight; the mattress went up in flames when he walked close to it with a lighter in his hand.
After unsuccessful attempts in putting out the fire with water, thick smoke engulfed the whole flat. Koh, his tenant and her daughter self-evacuated from the premises.
Koh’s illogical act of rage lead to units on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th floors of Block 688A along Chua Chu Kang Drive also catching fire.
In court, the district judge noted that it was fortunate that there were no injuries during the blaze, and that most of the damage were restricted to Koh’s own unit. He could have been jailed a maximum of seven years as well as fined.
Photo: Eric via Flickr
