Cigarette butts, used tissues and the occasional T-Shirt – we’ve had our fair share of random items being thrown out of HDB windows.
Clearly however, as a nation of overachievers, we’re not quite ready to end the list just there yet.
Gear up, because this week we’re adding a knife to the list.
If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen
On Friday (7 Oct), Muhammad Adam Samsu Bari, 32, admitted to throwing a knife out of his kitchen window, pleading guilty to one count of a rash act endangering human life.
He was sentenced to six weeks’ jail.
So, how did it happen?
The court heard that Adam was with his wife in their flat at Block 484, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5 at about 1pm on 3 July this year when this incident happened.
Apparently, the 32-year-old was preparing ingredients to make curry puffs when an argument started with his wife. Overcome with rage, the man flung the knife out of the fourth-storey flat.
If you thought the high-rise littering posters plastered around your void decks weren’t to be taken seriously, now’s the time to think again.
The 32-year-old man was supposedly arguing with his wife about financial matters.
As the quarrel went on, the heat went up as well. Both the husband and wife were thrown into a fit of anger and it was reported that the pair had started screaming at each other.
Adam had the knife aimed towards the shelves next to his open kitchen window. However, the knife flew towards and out of the window instead.
The knife, which had an 18cm-long blade, landed on the ground floor.
And the worst part? The knife landed outside a kindergarten downstairs.
In the heat of the argument, a passer-by who overheard the argument decided to call the police at about 1:20pm.
Upon arrival at the scene, the police recovered the knife on the ground floor, and also arrested the man who threw the knife of the window.
Fortunately, no one was hurt from this incident.
The Consequences
The prosecutor noted that Adam had previous convictions but none similar to the current charge.
Regardless, the prosecutor noted that there was a need for general deterrence in killer litter cases, given the prevalence of high-rise buildings in Singapore.
He also pointed out that since the object thrown here was a knife, it had an even greater potential to cause harm to others.
For committing a rash act endangering human life, Adam could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to $2,500, or both.
Featured Image: Shutterstock
