Man used slingshot to fire ball bearings from Hougang HDB car park rooftop, damaging flat windows

SINGAPORE — When Chan Supporter Kheow bought fascinated in slingshots, he tried to perfect his skills by taking pictures pellets and metallic ball bearings at plastic bottles on the rooftop of a multi-storey automobile park in Hougang.

Having said that, he at times missed the bottles altogether and the projectiles struck glass windows in nearby Housing and Growth Board (HDB) flats rather.

Chan was nabbed when the authorities reviewed law enforcement camera footage from housing blocks in the place and noticed him having a slingshot out of his pocket though waiting for a elevate.

On Tuesday (April 5), the 61-calendar year-old pleaded guilty to a person count of committing a rash act that endangered the own safety of others.

Another cost of carrying an offensive weapon in public will be taken into consideration for sentencing next week. 

Singapore bans the possession and importation of slingshots.

The court heard that Chan initially picked up the pastime of applying slingshots in November 2019 when he discovered that e-marketplace Taobao was listing them for sale at inexpensive selling prices and acquired some from the on-line retailer.

He then went to Guangzhou, China for a company excursion in which he noticed slingshot competitions and made the decision to go to coaching classes.

He finished up obtaining 7 slingshots and various packs of marbles, coloured pellets, as well as metallic ball bearings in different sizes.

He started out off by practising hitting makeshift concentrate on boards in his individual flat. Quickly just after, he started practising at the rooftop of the multi-storey automobile park at Block 933 Hougang Avenue 9.

His program was to put numerous plastic bottles on the floor and ledge of the rooftop, before standing some distance away and taking pictures pellets and bearings at the bottles with his slingshot. He often aimed in the direction of nearby Block 923.

On Dec 25, 2019, a single of the metallic ball bearings struck a glass panel in the living area of a flat at Block 923. The drive still left a crack and a small hole in the window.

The occupant made a law enforcement report afterwards that evening, declaring a “very rounded glass shard” experienced dropped from his window into the residence.

On Jan 12, 2020, Chan practised with his slingshot once more. A person of the metallic ball bearings again hit a bed room window of an additional flat in Block 923, leaving a gap about the size of a five-cent coin.

The occupant likewise created a police report.

The subsequent day, the law enforcement discovered nine metal ball bearings scattered all over the vehicle park rooftop location. They also seemed at law enforcement camera footage and saw Chan getting a slingshot out of his pocket.

He was arrested three days later on. In May well previous year, he built entire restitution of S$310 to the victims for their damaged home windows.

A Wellness Sciences Authority report stated that Chan’s medium- and massive-sized ball bearings could damage the units’ windows from the place Chan was taking pictures from.

His ball bearings could also bring about eye accidents if they experienced strike another person standing at an open window in the victims’ models, the report extra.

The prosecution is trying to get 4 to five weeks’ jail for Chan, arguing that he understood the risks and that he was conscious he was not very proficient at making use of the slingshots, but ongoing practising with his slingshots in any case.

Chan could be jailed for up to 12 months or fined up to S$5,000, or punished with equally.