Jailed 3 years, caned 18 times for harassment by fire
Published on Nov 18, 2011
By Khushwant Singh
He ran away from the Reformative Training Centre (RTC) and - to earn money - he set fire to doors of flats targeted by a loan shark.
Four months later, Muhammad Farhan Zaharudin was arrested on Oct 13.
On Friday, the 22-year-old was sentenced to three years in jail and 18 strokes of the cane. He pleaded guilty to setting fire to the doors of six flats after securing the main gates with bicycle locks. Luckily, none of the fires caused serious damage.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Qiu Huixiang told the court that Muhammad Farhan was on home leave from the RTC when he cut the electronic tagging device attached to his leg and absconded in mid-July. He had been sent to RTC for drug offences.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
