SINGAPORE: A man was fined S$3,000 on Tuesday (Dec 31) for setting off fireworks in Little India on Deepavali.

Sivasarvanan Suppiah Murugan, a 43-year-old floor manager, pleaded guilty to one count of discharging dangerous fireworks.



The court heard that Sivasarvanan went to work at Lady Dream Club in Perak Road on the eve of Deepavali.

He had bought a box of Happy Boom fireworks, intending to set them off to celebrate Deepavali, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh.

Between 8.30pm on Oct 26 and 4am the next day, Sivasarvanan went to several other clubs in the area to drink with his friends.

While at Mohicans Pub along Madras Street, Sivasarvanan decided to discharge the fireworks in front of the joint as he thought there were no cameras nearby.



Sivasarvanan placed a carton of the fireworks on the road at the T-junction of Madras Street and Campbell Lane and lit them before running a distance away.

The fireworks went off and police officers deployed in Little India for the festive celebrations heard the sound of the fireworks and saw lights shooting up in the sky.

They rushed to the scene and found the discharged fireworks carton at the scene, but Sivasarvanan was not there.

A police officer from an observation point at Farrer Park Station Road spotted fireworks in the air around 12.39am.

No personal injury or property damage was caused.

Sivasarvanan, who was unrepresented, asked to pay his fine in two instalments and was granted his request.

The penalties for first-time offenders who set off dangerous fireworks are a jail term of up to two years, a fine of between S$2,000 and S$10,000, or both.