60-year-old man charged after allegedly dismantling neighbours’ CCTVs and throwing it from the 12th floor

SINGAPORE: A 62-year-old man is suspected of playing pranks on his neighbour by removing his CCTV camera outside his door and throwing it from the 12th floor. Furthermore, the man also smashed a window using a glass marble, resulting in the neighbour getting injured by stepping on a shard of glass. He also threw yellow powder outside the neighbour’s door several times. Could this really be considered a prank? Or are there any intentions behind these actions? 

With this, the suspect is faced with seven charges, including mischief, reckless behaviour endangering the safety of others, breach of trust, and violation of the Prevention of Harassment Act. He then pleaded guilty to four of them, and the remaining charges are to be considered by the judge, as reported by Shin Min Daily News. 

Case details 

According to further investigations, the suspect lived in an HDB flat in Bedok North. Last April 8, the 74-year-old neighbour figured out that his CCTV camera was missing. When the neighbour checked his electronic doorbell with recording capabilities, he was shocked to find that a man dressed entirely in black forcibly removed his camera and threw it directly from the 12th floor. 

With this, the neighbour then called the police and confronted the suspect at his door. However, the suspect threw a glass marble from the inside of his house into the hallway, shattering his own window, spreading glass shards throughout the corridor. When the neighbour was returning to his home, he stepped on a broken glass and injured his toe. 

This was not the first time that the suspect harassed his neighbour because several days in March last year, he threw yellow powder at the neighbour’s doorstep on three separate occasions. 

The police arrested the suspect, and when the police took his statement, he initially refused to sign it. The suspect was then transferred to a facility for mental health and was diagnosed with delusional disorder. The evaluation also showed that the defendant was not mentally unstable.

The suspect pleaded guilty last June 12, and during his plea for leniency, he said admitted his mistake and would accept treatment properly. He also hoped that the judge would give him a chance to reform and allow him to undergo compulsory treatment.

Other related news 

In similar news related to neighbour complaints, there was a report where an elderly woman splashed an unknown liquid and bleach on her neighbour’s door because of a dispute over a bicycle parking space. 

While on bail, she even sprayed insecticide towards her neighbour and daughter, causing them to be hospitalised due to mild poisoning.

Read more about the news story here.