Another incident in Yishun? It seems so.
During Deepavali last year, Jeevan Arjoon, 29, bought fireworks from an unknown peddler at the Little India bazaar.
He didn’t buy just one set; he bought four sets.
After the purchase, he brought them to an open playground near Block 513A Yishun Street 51, where his family and friends were waiting at.
And the Yishun storu began.
Operation Fireworks Go
At around 3:30 am, he then lit all four sets of fireworks at the open field across the block.
Shortly after the fireworks were lit, a man called the police saying, “I heard the loud explosion on the ground floor.”
His family was not aware that he was going to do something like that.
He was arrested the next day.
Not The Brightest Idea
The fireworks flew at least seven storeys high; that’s about 21m high in the air. Unavoidably, the fireworks were loud enough to be heard by the surrounding Housing Board blocks.
Facepalm.
The fireworks display lasted around 3 to 5 minutes, and thankfully, no one was injured and the property was not damaged.
As a result, he was sentenced to three weeks in jail and slapped with a fine of $5,000 for setting off those dangerous fireworks.
Liar Liar
During investigations on November 7 last year, he admitted that he and another companion, Mattavan Michael Douglas bought the fireworks together that night. After which, he denied having any part in the purchase.
According to an article reported by Channel NewsAsia, Jeevan said, “Actually I did not buy the sparklers with Michael. Michael had told us that he bought the sparklers when he was at the bazaar in Birch Road, but none of us saw him buy it.”
This went from 0 to 100 real quick.
A few days later, on 12 November, he later admitted (again) that he bought the fireworks alone. Maybe he felt guilty?
Initially, he wanted to push the blame to Michael as a form of revenge. He felt that it was Michael who tipped off the police about him setting off the fireworks.
Pity in Court
Jeevan was unrepresented in court and was regretful for his actions. He reasoned that it was because he was the sole breadwinner of the family, and was responsible for taking care of his mother-in-law who was visually impaired and diabetic.
Jeevan pleaded for the court to be lenient and lighten the sentence so that he could go back to work. He is a chemical surveyor.
However, his two other unrelated charges did not help his case.
He was convicted of giving false information to a police officer, and on another occasion, the sale of a chihuahua. Poor doggo.
It Could Have Harmed Someone
The District Judge, Marvin Bay said the court has to take a very strict view of the case as fireworks could cause serious injuries and was a fire hazard. He also noted that the fireworks were set off close to other housing buildings.
He added that setting off fireworks at 3 am could also cause the public to be alarmed and afraid, due to the heightening concerns of possible acts of terrorism in Singapore.
With shooters and bombing cases all around the world, it is no wonder why the public is afraid. Hearing fire sounds at 3:30 am is frightening.
Moral of the story?
Don’t do fireworks in Singapore. The law will do you in for those five minutes of enjoyment.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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