Man started fire due to delusion that neighbour was attacking him, landing firemen in hospital

He then placed the pot on a metal rack near the open window in the living room and added more charcoal.

The fire grew larger and set a plastic curtain ablaze before spreading to the whole unit.

Panicking, Liu tried to put out the fire but could not.

He called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for help and ran to inform his neighbours to evacuate.

AFTERMATH

Two SCDF officers who helped extinguish the fire were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and were discharged a day later.

The Housing and Development Board said the fire had damaged the common area, estimating that repairs would cost about S$80,000 (US$61,896) to S$100,000.

Liu was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health where it was assessed that he was suffering from a delusional disorder at the time.

This was on the basis of his reports of somatic and persecutory ideas towards his neighbour over the previous two years.

The ideas that his neighbour shot laser beams and sent currents through his ceiling were “fixed, false beliefs” and his parents who lived with him confirmed they were not true.

Liu’s condition was assessed to be moderate in severity, given his fixation and the distress he experienced from the perceived disturbances.

A minor contributory link was found between his psychiatric condition and the offence, but Liu was not of unsound mind at the time.

The court called for a report assessing Liu’s suitability for a mandatory treatment order and adjourned sentencing to July.

For rashly causing a fire, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.