SINGAPORE - A man who is allegedly linked toa series of recent fires in Woodlands was charged in court on March 12.
Seah Kian Li, 56, was charged with one count of committing mischief by fire.
Court documents stated that the Singaporean was at the void deck of Block 155 Woodlands Street 13 at around 9.30am on March 10 when he allegedly tossed an unknown item into a recycle bin, causing it to catch fire.
His case will be mentioned again on March 26.
If convicted of committing mischief with fire, Seah can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.
Earlier media reports stated that the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were investigating three cases of fire in Woodlands that broke out over a few days in March.
An SCDF spokesperson said that the fires took place at and around Block 155.
Melted bins, soot-covered walls and a burning smell lingered at the scene of the incident when reporters visited the Housing Board block on March 10.
Reponding to queries from The Straits Times, SCDF said it was alerted to the fires on multiple occasions between March 7 and 10.
The first fire involved items on a bench, which SCDF officers put out with an extinguisher.
The other two fires involved the contents of recycling bins.
No injuries were reported said SCDF, adding that members of the public helped to put out the fires on March 8 and 10 with buckets of water.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
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