Feeling that his neighbour was too noisy, a 62-year-old man set fire to the window of her Toa Payoh flat.

When the neighbour escaped the flat with her three young kids, she saw the man standing outside the flat holding a knife.

The police eventually arrested Tee Gee Chuan at a nearby coffee shop, where they had to taser him as he resisted arrest.

Tee was sentenced to 17 months and four weeks in jail on Jan. 16, 2024.

Started a fire as neighbour 'talked too loudly'

Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) reported that the incident occurred at Block 149 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 on Mar. 24, 2023, at around 7:30pm.

The man's neighbour, her husband and three children, aged between five and nine, were at home when they smelled a burning stench from outside.

The neighbour then realised that Tee was standing in the corridor outside her flat, holding a few papers and a lighter.

She yelled at him to leave and shut the door.

However, Tee did not do so.

Instead, he burned the papers and put them in her window area.

Smelling smoke, the neighbour opened her door to check and realised, to her horror, that the windows were on fire.

She also saw Tee standing near her door with a knife in hand.

Her family immediately evacuated the flat, and she reported the matter to the police.

His arrest

Police found Tee at a crowded coffee shop at Block 177 Toa Payoh Lorong 7.

After spotting the officers, he took out a knife and, despite police warnings, tried to rush them.

He was tasered but continued to resist arrest while on the ground.

Police took away the knife he was holding.

They also found a Swiss Army knife, a hammer, paint thinner and newspapers on him.

Tee later claimed he decided to set fire because his neighbour "often talked too loudly" and "disturbed his peace".

Threw chairs to vent anger in another incident

Earlier that afternoon, Tee was also involved in a separate incident at the senior centre at the void deck of Block 149 Toa Payoh Lorong 1.

At around 4:30pm, he was riding his bicycle when his handlebars hit the tape used to cordon off the centre's entrance.

Unhappy, Tee went into the centre, picked up some chairs and threw them around to vent his anger.

No one else was around at the time.

Accused had history of similar offences: Prosecution

Tee Gee Chuan pleaded guilty on Jan. 16, 2024, to four charges, including mischief by fire, using criminal force to obstruct civil servants from performing their duties, and possessing a dangerous weapon in public, Shin Min reported.

The prosecution sought a sentence of 19 months in jail for Tee on account that he had brought a dangerous weapon to a crowded coffee shop and also attacked the police with it.

The prosecutor pointed out that he had previously been jailed for seven months for a 2021 offence of brandishing a knife in public and also had a history of setting fire.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News.