PUBLISHED ONMay 09, 2022 4:54 AMByKhoo Yi-HangIf you were to clean up an untended shrine for two consecutive years, would that grant you ownership of it?
One man apparently felt so.
On Sunday (May 8), a man living on the first floor of block 31 Toa Payoh Lorong 5 was arrested after he allegedly used kerosene to set fire to his third-floor neighbour's door following a dispute over the ownership of a shrine.
The shrine is located on the first floor of that block.
The man will be charged today (May 9) with mischief by fire with intent to destroy a house, an offence that carries a life imprisonment sentence or a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine, according to the police.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Deng, 50, said that she was home with her boyfriend on Saturday when they heard loud banging and shouting outside her door just before midnight.
She identified the person as a 49-year-old male neighbour living on the first floor.
"He was knocking strongly on our doors shouting that he didn't want to let us out [of our house], and 'he wanted us to die here'," Deng recounted to Shin Min Daily News. "There was a burning smell and smoke coming from outside the door."
Deng then immediately called the police but she didn't dare to open the door and check on the fire for fear of being hurt by the man, she said.
The police said that they were alerted to the incident at 12.09am on Sunday.
"Following a dispute, the man allegedly went to his neighbour's HDB flat and poured kerosene at the doorstep before setting the door on fire with a lighter," the police said in a news release.
The police said that the fire was promptly extinguished and no injuries were reported.
The man was arrested on the same day through ground enquiries and the use of police camera images, said police.
Deng also told Shin Min Daily News that she had bought the shrine six years ago at around $1,000.
Unfortunately, she had to leave Singapore for two years ago due to the Covid-19 epidemic, returning to Malaysia. Deng only came back to Singapore on Saturday, looking for employment.
After arriving in Singapore, she tried to pray at the shrine but realised that its doors were locked.
"I asked the male neighbour who lives in the unit next to the altar and he told me he changed the lock," Deng said to Shin Min Daily News. "For three consecutive years, I had paid this man's mother $50 a month to tend to the shrine."
The man then accused Deng of not thanking him for tending to the altar and told her that since she didn't use the altar for two years, it now belonged to him.
Deng, however, believed the shrine to be communal and left without saying anything further.
The man then went to her house at midnight where he allegedly set fire to Deng's door.
"If the fire had spread, wouldn't other innocent people be at risk?" Deng asked.
The suspect's family said they were unaware of their son's actions and were asleep when their son left the house.
The police said that they have zero tolerance against acts that endanger the lives or safety of others and will not hesitate to take action against those who blatantly disregard the law.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said: "The police extinguished the fire using a dry powder fire extinguisher prior to SCDF's arrival. There were no reported injuries".
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
khooyihang@asiaone.com