SINGAPORE: After going home in the wee hours of the morning and finding that his wife was not around, a man called her on the phone and the couple began quarrelling.
Feeling angry afterwards, the man took a can of hairspray and lighter to set his wife’s wardrobe and clothes on fire, before making a video call to her.
Muhammad Haikal Masai, 33, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Feb 14) to one count of rashly causing a fire.
The court heard that Haikal was an operations manager, living in a flat in Tampines with his 47-year-old wife.
The incident happened at about 2am on Feb 27 last year.
During the video call with his wife, he also threatened to burn the house down.
His wife called the Singapore Civil Defence Force for help.
When Haikal realised that the fire was getting out of control, he rushed to the kitchen to get some water and managed to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived.
Police and SCDF officers found at the scene a badly burnt wardrobe and clothes belonging to Haikal’s wife.
The estimated cost of the damage to the wardrobe and the clothes was between S$1,000 and S$2,000, the court heard.
Haikal will return to court for mitigation and sentencing later this month. If convicted of rashly causing a fire, he could be jailed for up to 18 months, fined, or both.