He was in a bad mood, so he decided to set fire to police cameras (Polcams) in Boon Lay. In November 2017, after having decided to burn the cameras, Lim Sin Ann went home to pick up a stool and some newspapers to do the deed.

On Friday (19 January), Lim, 52, was sentenced to three months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of vandalism. He was sentenced to an additional month’s jail in lieu of caning due to his age, making his total sentence four months.

Another count of vandalism and one count of theft of a PAssion card in an unrelated incident in November last year were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that as Lim was in a bad mood, on 6 November last year, he went to Blk 212 Boon Lay Place to burn the Polcams after taking the necessary items from his home.

At around 1.01am, Lim lit the newspaper on fire before climbing onto the stool to reach the cameras. He also used an umbrella to shield himself so that the Polcams would not capture his actions.

About a minute later, Lim burned another camera with the newspaper.

In all, Lim damaged three police cameras, causing their lenses and covers to be blackened. The cameras also recorded blurry images after the incident.

Each police camera cost $327 in repairs. Lim did not make any restitution for the damaged cameras.

Despite Lim’s attempts to shield himself, CCTV footage caught him in the act.

The police received information about the damaged cameras on 27 November.

On each count of vandalism, Lim could have been jailed up to three years and fined up to $2,000.

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Man faces vandalism charge for burning police cameras in Boon Lay