M
Ma Chao
Guest
Nov 2, 2010
7 held for starting fires
By Lai Han-Wei
SEVEN teenage boys aged between 12 and 15 have been arrested by the police for mischief by fire, in two separate cases. In the first incident, which happened last Sunday, police were informed at around 10.05pm that a security officer at Hougang Green Shopping Mall had detained five boys, aged between 12 and 13 years, for playing with fire. Preliminary investigations revealed that the said boys had, out of mischief, set fire to a piece of paper outside a unit located on the second storey of the shopping mall earlier.
In the second case on the following Monday at around 2.30am, police officers on patrol checked on two 15 year-old boys near Block 72 Marine Drive. They found a lighter in one of the boys' possession. The two boys had, out of mischief, set fire to paper and cloth at the playground, resulting in some damage to the playground's facilities. All seven have been released on bail pending further investigations. Offenders convicted of mischief by fire can be jailed up to seven years and/or fined.
