Woman sets joss paper ablaze outside ex-colleague's Bukit Batok flat after being ignored, gets fined女子因遭前同事冷落，在其位于武吉巴督的公寓外点燃纸钱，被罚款
A woman who became frustrated after her former colleague failed to answer the door was fined for setting fire to joss paper outside the colleague's flat in Bukit Batok.Tong Huanling, 34, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to one charge of causing a fire and was fined $3,000 on Monday (Nov 2).According to court documents, Tong went to her former colleague's...
A woman who became frustrated after her former colleague failed to answer the door was fined for setting fire to joss paper outside the colleague's flat in Bukit Batok.
Tong Huanling, 34, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to one charge of causing a fire and was fined $3,000 on Monday (Nov 2).
According to court documents, Tong went to her former colleague's home at Block 293A, Bukit Batok Street 21, on the night of Jan 29 this year to look for her.
However, her former colleague was overseas at the time, leaving only her husband and six-year-old daughter at home.
After receiving no response despite knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell, Tong waited outside the unit for about an hour.
Noticing that the lights inside the unit were on but no one answered the door, Tong believed that her former colleague was deliberately avoiding her.
She then retrieved a cardboard box containing joss paper from the ground floor of the HDB block and placed it near the shoe rack outside the unit's iron gate.
At around 11pm, she set the joss paper alight and took photographs of the fire, which she sent to her former colleague before knocking on the door again.
When no one answered the door, Tong kicked over a wooden chair in anger, causing it to topple onto the burning cardboard box, which fuelled the fire further.
Compensation and apology rejected
Soon after, her former colleague's husband spotted flames and thick smoke outside the unit and immediately called the police.
Police officers arrived shortly afterwards and found that two neighbours who had smelled smoke had already helped to extinguish the fire.
Tong was arrested and charged in court on Jan 30. She was released on bail on Feb 10.
Following the incident, Tong offered compensation and a written apology, but both were rejected by her former colleague's husband, according to Shin Min Daily News.
Photographs submitted to the court showed that the floor outside the unit was charred, with ash residue on the gate and a wooden chair badly burned.
During sentencing, Tong's lawyer reportedly pleaded for leniency, highlighting that Tong had sought psychiatric help and was diagnosed with adjustment disorder and is receiving treatment.
The prosecution argued that despite causing only $25 in property damage, the fire posed a significant safety risk as it occurred in a residential area, reported Shin Min Daily News.
The judge also noted that it was fortunate the blaze had not spread further, which could have led to more serious consequences.
xingying.koh@asiaone.com
一名女子因前同事未开门而感到沮丧，在武吉巴督同事的公寓外点燃了冥纸，结果被罚款。
34岁的中国公民童焕玲于周一（11月2日）承认一项纵火罪，并被罚款3000美元。
根据法庭文件，今年 1 月 29 日晚，童前往她前同事位于武吉巴督 21 街 293A 座的家中寻找她。
然而，当时她的前同事在海外，家中只留下丈夫和六岁的女儿。
尽管敲门按门铃都没有回应，但童在屋外等了大约一个小时。
注意到屋内的灯亮着，但没有人应门，童认为她的前同事是在故意躲着她。
然后，她从组屋楼下取下一个装有冥纸的纸箱，放在单元房铁门外的鞋架附近。
晚上 11 点左右，她点燃了纸钱，拍下了火光的照片，并将照片发送给了她的前同事，然后再次敲响了房门。
门无人应答，童气愤地踢翻了一把木椅，木椅倒在了燃烧的纸箱上，火势进一步蔓延。
拒绝赔偿和道歉
不久之后，她前同事的丈夫发现公寓外有火焰和浓烟，立即打电话报警。
警察随后赶到现场，发现两名闻到烟味的邻居已经帮忙扑灭了火灾。
Tong于1月30日被捕并被控上法庭。她于2月10日获得保释。
据《新明日报》报道，事件发生后，童某提出赔偿并书面道歉，但均被其前同事的丈夫拒绝。
提交给法庭的照片显示，该单元外的地板被烧焦了，大门上有灰烬残留，一把木椅严重烧毁。
据报道，在宣判时，童的律师请求法官从轻发落，强调童曾寻求精神科医生的帮助，被诊断患有适应障碍，目前正在接受治疗。
据《新明日报》报道，检方认为，尽管火灾仅造成 25 美元的财产损失，但由于火灾发生在居民区，因此构成了重大的安全隐患。
法官还指出，幸运的是火势没有进一步蔓延，否则可能会导致更严重的后果。
邢英.koh@asiaone.com