M'sian man gets 1 year, 7 months' jail after setting fire to S'pore flat of alleged scammer's family

The Malaysian man who had set fire to a Singapore flat where an alleged scammer lived was sentenced to 19 months and two weeks in jail, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Seven people were in the Tampines flat when the incident happened on Dec. 8, 2023.

Among them was a 41-year-old Singaporean man who was under police investigation at the time for alleged involvement in scams, according to Shin Min.

He was living there with his wife, their two children aged three and nine, his sister, and his parents.

Before starting the fire, 33-year-old Vellu Pillai P Sivakkumar first locked the unit's gate with a bicycle lock to prevent the family inside from escaping.

Previously, on May 4, he pleaded guilty to one charge of committing mischief by fire with intent to cause damage to property.

A second charge of wrongfully confining the occupants in the unit was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Background of the case

Sivakkumar, who resided in Johor Bahru, entered Singapore after he received a job offer from someone he did not know in late November 2023.

The person offered him S$2,500 and a S$400 deposit upfront to lock the door of the alleged Singaporean scammer's residential unit and set it on fire.

According to court documents, the Singaporean had owed people debts and allegedly scammed multiple people.

Around 4:25am on Dec. 8, 2023, Sivakkumar arrived at the Tampines flat wearing a hat and mask, and opened an umbrella while going up the stairs in an attempt to obscure his face from CCTV cameras.

He splashed some petrol he had collected from his motorcycle on the unit door, then set it alight.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

The Singaporean man had woken up to use the toilet, and discovered the fire just before 4:42am. Everyone in the house was safely evacuated by the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

However, there was some damage to the digital locks on the door and gate, resulting in about S$4,000 in repair costs.

Financial difficulties

Sivakkumar claimed he was facing financial difficulties himself at the time of the incident.

At court, he pleaded for leniency, explaining that his wife was pregnant then, and he took the job offer because he needed money to pay for her medical bills, Shin Min reported.

Soon after setting the fire on the same day, he left Singapore and returned to Johor Bahru.

Almost two years later, on Sep. 4, 2025, he turned himself in to the Malaysian police, who then handed him over to the Singapore police.

Police investigations also revealed that the Singaporean victim had received threatening messages from people he owed money to.

The police were not able to identify the person who asked Sivakkumar to set fire to the house, and Sivakkumar was not sure if it was the work of a debt collector, according to Shin Min.