Woman gets jail for setting fire to Sembawang flat, had believed she was trapped in ex-boyfriend's house

A woman who set fire to papers in a Sembawang HDB flat after believing she was trapped inside has been sentenced to five months' jail on Wednesday (Sept 9).

Jasmine Helena Halim, 46, admitted to one charge of intentionally setting fire to the unit.

The fire broke out at around 5.15pm on June 30 at a 10th-floor unit at Block 512 Wellington Circle.

Helena had broken up with her boyfriend on the day of the fire and, at around 5pm, became convinced that he had trapped her inside her home, reported Shin Min Daily News.

She reportedly told an investigation officer that that she had been locked inside the unit for weeks without food, although she had not sought help from anyone during that time, Shin Min reported.

She then used a lighter to set fire to six pieces of paper and threw them into the bedroom in an alleged attempt to create an "escape route", causing the flames to quickly spread and damage her home and the windows of a neighbouring unit.

SCDF officers later extinguished the blaze and evacuated about 30 residents,

Arrested on day of fire

Helena, who is a known patient of the Institute of Mental Health, was arrested on the day of the fire and has been on remand since.

The prosecution noted that she had previous convictions for theft and property-related offences, but no previous convictions for arson.

It said the latest offence resulted in more than $10,000 in repair costs, with Helena yet to make any compensation, and caused public alarm and inconvenience.

helmy.saat@asiaone.com

一名女子以为自己被困在三巴旺组屋里，便放火焚烧屋内文件。周三（9月9日），该女子被判处五个月监禁。

46岁的贾斯敏·海伦娜·哈利姆承认了一项故意纵火焚烧房屋的指控。

6月30日下午5点15分左右，威灵顿环路512座10楼的一间公寓发生火灾。

据《新明日报》报道，海伦娜在火灾当天与男友分手，并在下午5点左右确信男友将她困在了家中。

据《新明日报》报道，她向调查人员透露，自己被锁在房间里好几个星期，没有食物，但在此期间她没有向任何人寻求帮助。

然后，她用打火机点燃了六张纸，并将它们扔进卧室，据称是为了制造一条“逃生通道”，导致火势迅速蔓延，损坏了她的家和邻近单元的窗户。

新加坡民防部队人员随后扑灭了大火，并疏散了约30名居民。

火灾当天被捕

海伦娜是精神健康研究所的已知患者，她在火灾当天被捕，此后一直被羁押。

检方指出，她曾因盗窃和财产相关罪行被定罪，但没有纵火罪的犯罪记录。

声明称，最近这起违规事件造成了超过 1 万美元的维修费用，而海伦娜至今尚未做出任何赔偿，并引起了公众的恐慌和不便。

helmy.saat@asiaone.com