A man in Singapore was fined S$5,000 for setting off a box of 25 fireworks in front of a block of Housing and Development Board flats in Yishun.

Noor Azhar Abdul Abas, 40, had set off the fireworks on Apr. 9, the eve of Hari Raya Puasa, to celebrate the occasion.

A now-deleted TikTok video captured the firework sparks going off in the housing estate that night.

The commotion led to members of the public calling the police, who tracked down and arrested Noor Azhar.

@mothershipsg Police investigations are ongoing. #tiktoksg #sgnews #singapore #sg ♬ News, news, seriousness, tension(1077866) - Lyrebirds music

Bought fireworks in Geylang, set them off in Yishun

The court heard that sometime in March 2024, Noor Azhar bought a box labelled "Happy Boom Shoot" from an unknown person in Geylang.

The box contained 25 fireworks, and he intended to discharge them during the Hari Raya Puasa celebrations.

At about 10:40pm on Apr. 9, Noor Azhar brought the fireworks to a grass patch beside a canal in front of Block 644 Yishun Street 61.

He then set them off using a lighter, before returning to his parents' house.

Residents called police

For about two minutes, residents reported seeing the fireworks shoot up as high as 10 storeys before exploding.

The commotion and spectacle caused by the fireworks alarmed members of the public, who called the police.

Police dispatched to the scene seized the remains of the fireworks for analysis.

They are classified as rocket fireworks, which are illegal to possess, sell, transport, deliver, distribute, import or discharge in Singapore under the Dangerous Fireworks Act.

Police subsequently tracked down Noor Azhar using images from police cameras, closed-circuit television (CCTV) and through ground enquiries.

He was arrested on Apr. 14.

Deeply remorseful for my actions: Accused

Noor Azhar pleaded guilty to discharging dangerous fireworks on Tuesday (May 28).

The prosecution asserted that the offence was "planned and premeditated", and had alarmed and endangered residents in the estate.

In mitigation, the accused said that he was deeply remorseful for his actions, which were "carried out without thinking", Today reported.

"I feel remorseful and regretful... I truly regret that this thing has happened," he reportedly said.

The Singapore government rolled out a total ban of fireworks in 1972.

Since then, the government must give their permission before fireworks can be launched.

The first person to contravene the Dangerous Fireworks Act was Alagappan Singaram, who set off fireworks in Bukit Batok with his son in November 2018.

He was also fined S$5,000.

Top image from @pale.nuetral/TikTok & court documents