A 47-year-old butcher who threw an ofo bike from the 15th floor of his HDB block was sentenced to nine weeks in jail yesterday.
Selamat Mohamed Ali was charged with committing a rash act. Another charge of misappropriating the $300 shared bicycle was considered during sentencing.
The incident occurred on 22 June at 5.36am. Selamat had returned to his flat, Block 11 at Upper Boon Keng Road, a little earlier after a drinking session at Orchard Towers. Instead of returning to his apartment, Selamat went to the 15th floor lift landing of the block to rest.
At the lift landing, he spotted two ofo bikes which were parked there by ofo employee Tan Han Tiong. Tan, a resident of the same block, could not return the bicycles to the company the night before as there weren’t any vehicles available to transport them.
CCTV footage captured Selamat carrying one of the bikes and throwing it over the corridor parapet. Deputy Public Prosecutor Dwayne Lum argued that Selamat threw the bike without checking if anyone was on the ground floor or if the bicycle had landed on or hurt anyone.
The bicycle fell 5m behind Madam Rajamanickam Jayalakshimi and her husband who were sorting out newspapers at the void deck. Selamat was found sleeping at the 15th floor lift landing where he was arrested.