SINGAPORE - A man who brandished an airsoft pistol at local food court earlier this year, was on Thursday (Oct 15) sentenced to five weeks in jail for the unauthorised possession of the controlled item.
Yang Ziyi, 26, who purchased the airsoft pistol for $350 through a broker, brought it to the Koufu food court at Pioneer Mall on June 27 this year.
While intoxicated, he approached some food court patrons and showed them the airsoft pistol and later pointed it into the air before tucking it into his shorts. His actions caused alarm and prompted one of the onlookers to alert the police.
Police later found Yang near the mall and the gun was discovered after a frisk search. A raid of Yang's flat, at Block 836 Jurong West Street 81, uncovered a small packet of 6mm plastic pellets.
Yang admitted that the airsoft pistol belonged to him, and that the pellets were meant for use as ammunition.
Another charge of using a replica samurai sword with a 1m long blade to intimidate a victim, was taken into consideration during the sentencing.
Yang could have been fined up to $5,000 and jailed up to three years for the unauthorised possession of the airsoft pistol.
Airsoft is a sport in which participants eliminate opponents by shooting at each other with spherical non-metallic pellets using replica firearms called airsoft guns. Most of these guns are the exact copies of the actual guns.
Although the pellets can cause pain, they generally do not inflict serious injuries.
