An elderly man with a history of bipolar disorder set his mattress ablaze after claiming to see bedbugs, and the fire spread, causing a neighbour's domestic helper to die of smoke inhalation.
On Wednesday, Chia Gek Yong, 73, whose mental condition was in relapse at the time of the incident, admitted that he had caused Ms Koimatun Achmad Ali's death by performing a rash act.
The 48-year-old woman was the only one at home at the time as her employers were overseas.
Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren said that Chia's symptoms included increased energy levels and hallucination.
Following his conviction on Wednesday, the court called for a report to assess his suitability for a mandatory treatment order.
Offenders given such an order have to undergo treatment to address their conditions in lieu of time behind bars.
Chia was in his flat on the 10th storey of Block 39 Telok Blangah Rise when he woke up on his bed in the living room at around 4am on Jan 29, 2022.
Thinking he saw bed bugs, he retrieved multiple cans of insecticide and sprayed his bed.
Chia then used lighters to set his mattress on fire after believing that the bed bugs were still alive.
When the fire spread, he tried but failed to extinguish it with several bottles of water.
After that, he exited the flat, leaving behind its four other occupants who were asleep. Their identities were not disclosed in court documents.
They were jolted awake by the smoke and also left the flat, said the DPP, adding: "The police received multiple calls reporting the fire as (it) spread. One of the four occupants went to a nearby coffee shop to take an extinguisher.
"He went back to the unit to try putting out the fire, but as the fire was starting to engulf the entire 10th floor unit, he was unsuccessful."
Police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers arrived at the scene soon after, and started evacuating the whole block.
The prosecutor told the court that the officers had to carefully evacuate them as many of the residents were senior citizens and lifts cannot be used during a fire evacuation.
There was also only one staircase that could be used for the evacuation.
The SCDF officers noticed Chia's flat contained various hoarded items that contributed to the spread of the fire.
Court documents did not disclose the identity of the person who had collected the items.
There was also a gas leak in the unit where Chia lived, and the officers had to ensure that the gas valve was turned off while fighting the blaze.
老人纵火 女佣吸入浓烟身亡
一名患有双相情感障碍病史的老人声称，在看到臭虫后放火焚烧床垫，导致火势蔓延，导致邻居的家庭佣工因吸入烟雾而死亡。
周三，73岁的谢玉勇（Chia Gek Yong）在事件发生时患有精神疾病，他承认自己的鲁莽行为导致了Koimatun Achmad Ali女士的死亡。
这名48岁的女性当时是家里唯一的人，因为她的雇主在海外。
副检察官 R. Arvindren 表示，Chia 的症状包括精力增加和出现幻觉。
周三定罪后，法院下令提交一份报告，评估他是否有资格获得强制治疗令。
收到此类命令的罪犯必须接受治疗以改善其状况，而不是入狱。
2022 年 1 月 29 日凌晨 4 点左右，Chia 在直落布兰雅 Rise 第 39 座 10 楼公寓客厅的床上醒来。
他以为自己看到了臭虫，于是拿出多罐杀虫剂喷在床上。
奇亚相信臭虫还活着，并用打火机点燃了他的床垫。
随着火势蔓延，他尝试用几瓶水将火扑灭，但没有成功。
然后他离开了公寓，留下其他四名居民正在睡觉。 法庭文件中没有透露他们的身份。
民进党表示，他们被烟雾吵醒，也离开了公寓，并补充道：“警方接到多个电话，报告火势正在蔓延。四名居民中的一名前往附近的一家咖啡店拿灭火器。
“他回到单位并试图扑灭大火，但没有成功，因为大火开始吞没整个10楼的单位。”
警察和新加坡民防部队（SCDF）人员不久后到达现场并开始疏散整个街区。
检察官告诉法庭，警方不得不小心地疏散他们，因为许多居民都是老年人，而且火灾疏散期间没有电梯。
并且只能使用一根楼梯进行疏散。
民防官员注意到谢的公寓里藏有各种囤积物品，这导致了火势蔓延。
法庭文件没有透露收集这些物品的人的身份。
Chia居住的单位也发生煤气泄漏，警方在灭火时必须确保煤气阀门已关闭。
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