Two charged, two arrested for illegally setting off fireworks
Two men were charged yesterday for their role in illegally setting off fireworks in the Little India area on Deepavali on Tuesday, while two other men were arrested for a similar offence in another incident on the same day.
Police are also investigating a third incident of illegal fireworks.
In the first incident, a police officer spotted the fireworks along Gloucester Road in the Little India area around midnight.
Following investigations, officers from Central Police Division established the identities of the two men in the incident and arrested them on the same day.
The two, Thiagu Selvarajoo, 29, and Siva Kumar Subramaniam, 48, both Singaporeans, were charged yesterday.
The former was charged with letting off dangerous fireworks, specifically one box of "Happy Boom", and the latter for abetting him.
The second incident was reported at about 3.30am the same morning in the Yishun area.
Like the Little India incident, video clips of the fireworks made the rounds online.
Police confirmed that a report was lodged for this incident and investigations are ongoing.
In the third incident, the police said they were alerted to a case of discharge of fireworks at about 7.50pm on Tuesday at 194B Bukit Batok West Ave 6.
Two men, aged 18 and 54, were subsequently arrested.
According to a report by Lianhe Wanbao, the fireworks were set off at the grass patch near the blocks.
10 STOREYS HIGH
The report said that the fireworks had shot up to about 10 storeys high, and hit the outside wall of one of the blocks of flats.
According to Lianhe Wanbao, the sparks narrowly missed hitting one person.
It also startled many residents, including an infant who started crying loudly.
The Chinese evening daily added that several residents rushed downstairs to investigate the fireworks, and along with the police, found the suspects after about 20 minutes.
No injuries were reported, the police said.
Anyone convicted for discharge of dangerous fireworks can be fined between $2,000 and $10,000 and jailed for up to two years, or both.
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