Last Updated on 2023-05-16 , 10:52 am
A man has pleaded guilty to committing arson on 5 May 2023 and has been sentenced to eight months of jail after setting fire to his Housing Development Board (HDB) flat in Boon Lay.
According to him, the landlord had proposed to increase his rent. In order to “distract” the landlord from raising the rent for his flat, the man set fire to his unit, causing the landlord to suffer injuries while extinguishing the fire.
Fire Caused More Than a Distraction
According to Shin Min Daily News, the landlord, aged 45, had notified the culprit, Mr Lin Ting Hu, and his girlfriend who was also residing in the apartment on Boon Lay Drive, of his plans to raise the rent in February 2023.
The landlord had intended to increase the rent from $750 to $950, an increment of approximately 30% in April 2023.
Mr Lin, who was struggling to afford the raised rental fees, deduced that he could resolve the increased rent though setting a fire.
After all, the fire would most likely leave the apartment in a less desirable state than it was when they first moved in, right?
So on the morning of 5 April 2023, Mr Lin carried out his reckless plan by igniting a lighter and throwing it into a corner of the flat’s living room, which was partitioned off as a storage area.
An hour later, the landlord was awoken by the smoke and tried to extinguish the fire while contacting the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for assistance.
In the process of extinguishing the fire, the landlord sustained burn injuries on his right limb and was given medical leave for 13 days.
Apart from suffering injuries from the fire, the landlord had to pay over $3,000 for repairing the unit, as the fire destroyed the electronic equipment and clothing in the apartment.
Punishment For The Tenant
Instead of expressing repentance for his crimes, Mr Lin initially denied any responsibility for the fire, only admitting to the crime after police presented him with CCTV footage proving that he left for work at the same time the fire started.
Consequently, Mr Lin eventually pleaded guilty to one count of arson on 5 May 2023.
He requested leniency from the court, citing plans to marry in 2024 and reunite with his family in Malaysia.
Additionally, he pleaded for a lighter sentence, arguing that his being away from his family for too long would negatively affect his family’s finances.
He emphasised that he was the sole breadwinner in his family, which includes his elderly parents and his 90-year-old grandmother.
After apologising sincerely to the landlord, Mr Lin was eventually sentenced to eight months in prison for his offence, a much lighter sentence than the maximum seven-year jail term that could have been imposed.
In Singapore, committing arson with the intent to cause damage to any property is classified as the offence of “mischief by fire,” which carries a punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment and a fine.
Rising Rental Prices in Singapore
Although it is no justification for committing arson, reports of unreasonable landlords and rising rental prices in Singapore are not uncommon.
According to sources, rental prices for four-room flats across all neighbourhoods increased by 21% in 2022.
Additionally, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) reported a 29.7% increase in the average monthly rent for properties in the central region of Singapore in December 2022.
In March 2023, a TikTok user with the handle @salshoult expressed similar frustrations to Mr Lin, as her landlord had planned to raise her rent by 75%.
Despite this substantial increase, the landlord claimed the 75% increase was still a good deal and that he could easily rent it out for a 100% increase in rental pricing if she did not renew.
The landlord claimed to be offering her a discount as the user was a relatively low-maintenance tenant who always paid her rent on time and kept the unit in excellent condition.
Understandably, the user found the demand to be unreasonable, prompting her to move out.
This phenomenon was also observed among other foreign workers in Singapore who have been forced to return to their home countries due to the recent surge in rental prices.
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