Man threatens police officers with homemade Molotov cocktail in Marine Drive, gets jail and caning

A 37-year-old man was sentenced yesterday morning (July 28) to seven years’ jail and three strokes of the cane for threatening police officers with a homemade Molotov Cocktail. 

The accused faced four counts of voluntary causing grievous hurt and one count of criminal intimidation, for which the judge found him guilty of all five, reports Shin Min Daily News via Lianhe Zaobao

The prosecution said in their statement that two police officers were dispatched to Block 66, Marine Drive, on Mar 27, 2015, at around 5pm, after residents complained about the rubbish chute emitting smoke.

SCDF officers at the scene determined that the chute had been set on fire, and also found a pile of burnt pharmaceutical products at the foot of the block.

The police officers subsequently visited the accused’s flat but were denied entry.

The accused told the officers he was ‘Tua Pek Kong’.

He also claimed that he was making drugs in the apartment.

When the officers heard this, they contacted their superior, while the accused closed his metal gates, and barricaded the door with a coffee table. 

He then retrieved a transparent bottle containing an unidentified substance, believed to be a homemade Molotov Cocktail.

The mouth of the bottle was covered with a piece of white cloth, and a burning plate was also found in the house. 

The accused threatened to ‘perish together with the cops’ should they attempt to force their way into the apartment.

About an hour later, another police officer in plainclothes arrived at the scene, and the accused threatened the officers with the bottle once again. 

The officers were forced to leave, but when they visited the unit again later, they found that the bottle was nowhere in sight.

They left after ensuring the safety of accused’s mother and sisters. 

At 3.56pm the next day, the police received a report from the same address again.

Officers were dispatched and when they arrived at the door to the accused’s apartment, heard people quarrelling within. 

When the officers attempted to break the door down, the accused took out the same transparent bottle and made a gesture, suggesting that he was going to throw the bottle at the officers.

The officers requested for him to place the bottle down, but the accused instead demanded that the officers disarmed themselves. 

The entire standoff was recorded by body worn cameras on the officers. 

The judge when delivering the sentence, said that the accused posed a danger to everyone surrounding him.