A spat between siblings in Singapore turned ugly after one brother turned off the wifi to annoy the other into leaving their shared flat.

Fock Ming Chai Daniel, 27, retaliated by using a homemade flamethrower to burn his older brother's door before slashing him on his hand, chest and leg with a chopper.

The victim had to be hospitalised and go for reconstructive surgery as a result.

Used homemade flamethrower to burn soap holder

Court documents indicated that in 2000, Fock's parents had divorced.

After the divorce, Fock stayed in a rental flat with his mother, while the victim stayed together with Fock's father and younger sister.

Fock and his brother were said to have had a "strained relationship" growing up.

Around March 2023, Fock's mother moved out, so he temporarily moved into the shared flat with his father and siblings.

On Jun. 16, 2023, Fock woke up at around 10am and was annoyed to find that his brother had placed used dental floss on his toothbrush.

To express his displeasure, he used a lighter and aerosol can as a homemade flamethrower to burn the soap holder in the common toilet.

Brother switched off wifi, got slashed and door burned

When the victim found the burnt soap holder at around 11am, he was upset.

He started thinking of ways to annoy Fock into leaving the flat.

To that end, he switched off the wifi connection in the flat at around 2pm, while Fock was in his room.

Angered by this, Fock took the homemade flamethrower and a chopper with a 16cm blade, and went over to burn the bottom of his brother's room door.

When the victim heard noises, he opened the door and caught Fock in the act.

Fock then picked up the chopper and slashed him on the right hand with it.

The two got into a struggle, during which Fock also slashed his chest and right leg.

Later, Fock calmed down and stopped the attack.

Arrested after brother sent to hospital

By this time, Fock's younger sister had heard the commotion and came out to find that the victim was bleeding.

So she called for an ambulance to bring the victim to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

She also told her older sister about what had happened over the phone, and accompanied by a social worker, lodged a police report that afternoon.

After paramedics arrived, Fock kept the chopper in a sealable plastic bag in his room.

He then took a shower and left the flat to meet his mother.

Police arrested Fock at around 2am the next day, Jun. 17, 2023.

He was released on bail that afternoon.

An Institute of Mental Health (IMH) doctor who later examined Fock opined that he had underwent an adjustment reaction, which refers to an excessive reaction to stress.

Went for reconstructive surgery, got 40 days MC

On Jun. 16, the victim was found to have deep lacerations on his right hand, and lacerations over his chest and right leg.

Some of the nerves and arteries in his right hand had also been cut completely.

He had to undergo reconstructive surgery the same day, and was briefly sent to a high dependency ward following surgery.

The victim was then transferred to a normal ward and discharged on Jun. 19 with 40 days of hospitalisation leave.

An offence of domestic violence: Prosecution

Fock pleaded guilty to voluntarily causing hurt with a chopper on Sep. 3.

Two counts of causing mischief with fire will be taken into consideration for his sentencing.

The prosecution asked for a deterrent sentence of 16 to 18 months' imprisonment for Fock, classifying it as an "offence of domestic violence" committed by a man against his brother while living under the same roof.

The prosecutor also highlighted the severity of the injuries as an aggravating factor, noting that "as a result of the victim’s nerve injuries, some form of numbness over his fingers would likely be permanent."

Accused was abused by brother and had depression: Defence

In mitigation, Fock's defence told the court that he had a disturbed childhood and was regularly abused by his brother, which led to him being diagnosed with depression, The Straits Times reported.

Fock's lawyer said his depression had led to this "adjustment reaction" on the day of the incident.

“The victim was the one who abused my client. The victim was trying to agitate my client on the day of the incident. He was deliberately trying to annoy my client out of the house,” the lawyer said.

While acknowledging that Fock had depressive disorder, the prosecution pointed out that his IMH report did not state that this had any contributory or causal link to his behaviour.

Fock will be sentenced on Sep. 19.

Top image from Canva