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SINGAPORE: Whenever he felt bored, a man would shoot metal ball bearings from his room using slingshots and other items, aiming at lamp posts and signages.
On one occasion, Ip Hin Yew even tried to shoot at a nearby parked car that was blocking a rubbish truck.
Between February and April 2023, he used slingshots to shoot ball bearings from his Bukit Panjang Housing Board flat, damaging a neighbour’s windows on two occasions.
The 46-year-old Singaporean, who has since made full restitution of S$550 to his neighbour, was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail and a fine of S$4,000 on Wednesday (April 23).
He had pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including committing a rash act that endangered the safety of others, and being in possession of spring-powered pistols and a replica rifle that shot water absorbent pellets.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gladys Lim told the court that in 2021, Ip developed an interest in slingshots and guns that shot ball bearings.
He then decided to buy these items from e-commerce platform Taobao.
Police officers who raided Ip’s home in May 2023 found seven slingshots, three spring-powered pistols and a replica battery-operated rifle.
DPP Lim said: “The accused watched YouTube videos showing how people would use slingshots. He started practising shooting the slingshots, replica pistols and toy rifles with the metal ball bearings from his room.
“He would do these ‘target practices’ from the window of his room and shoot at lamp posts or signages at random timings or whenever he was bored,” she added.
On Feb 23, 2023, Ip’s 63-year-old neighbour alerted the police, stating that somebody had thrown a “pinball” at his window, damaging it.
The following month, he made a police report again, saying that he had heard a sound from an “airgun” and found a ball bearing along a common corridor near his home.
He lodged a third police report in April that year after his wife heard a cracking sound at their window and found a ball bearing nearby.
Police raided Ip’s home on May 2, 2023, and he was charged in court in 2024.
On April 23, the DPP told the court “it was fortuitous that no one was injured”.
She said the potential harm would have been greater if Ip had accidentally shot someone with a ball bearing.
“However, we… note that the accused did not appear to have been intending to use the slingshots for more nefarious purposes.”
The prosecutor also stressed that a deterrent sentence was necessary in this case to safeguard public order and safety. - The Straits Times/ANN
