9 months' jail for man who threw Molotov cocktail at ex-wife's house

A shareholder of food and beverage company Hjh Maimunah Catering was so unhappy with his former wife, he drove to her house during the circuit breaker and flung a Molotov cocktail at it, causing damage to the landed property.

Singapore had imposed a circuit breaker between April 7 and June 1, 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Earlier media reports had identified the offender Ismail Didih Ibrahim as one of the owners of the popular Hjh Maimunah restaurant in Jalan Pisang near Arab Street.

But court documents state that at the time of the offences, he was a manager for his parents' eatery.

Ismail, 37, was yesterday sentenced to nine months' jail after he pleaded guilty to one count each of committing an act of mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage, as well as an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.

Ismail and the woman had tied the knot in 2017 but were divorced two years later. On May 12, 2020, he drove to her Telok Kurau house, armed with items including a half-filled bottle of thinner and a spray can of black paint. He also took along a raincoat to disguise himself that evening.

In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En told the court: "(Ismail) was seen on CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage going to the boot of his car and preparing a Molotov cocktail by pouring repeatedly the paint thinner into (an) empty bottle and stuffing rags on the top.

"At times, he would glance around the mostly deserted street to see if anyone was watching him. After about five minutes of preparation, the accused then walked over to the victim's house... wearing the raincoat."

After spraying "O$P$" (owe money, pay money) on the property even though the woman's family had not borrowed cash from a loan shark, Ismail flung the lit Molotov cocktail at the house, causing a fire when the bottle shattered. He then left the scene.

The woman, then 32, and her family members were not aware of the incident at first as they were on an upper floor. One of their neighbours, however, spotted the blaze and put out the fire with her own family members. They then alerted the victim's family and the police were subsequently called.

Ismail has since made voluntary restitution of $5,000 to his former wife and donated $3,000 to three charities of her choice. His bail was set at $20,000 yesterday and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Sept 14 to begin serving his sentence.