Five men allegedly tried to set a club in St James Power Station ablaze in the early hours of Sept 13 by using Molotov cocktails.

Four suspects were arrested shortly after and charged with one count of mischief by fire each, but the fifth suspect - Daryl Tay Kai Long - eluded police for three weeks before he was caught.

Yesterday, Tay, 26, was charged with the same crime. He was offered bail of $15,000. His alleged accomplices, Toh Wen Yi and Bryan Ho Chang Rong, both 26, and Eugene Lim Huang Shen and Cephas Ho Jin An, both 23, had been charged on Sept 15.

The cases for all five will be mentioned again on Oct 17.

They are accused of having acted jointly to hurl four Molotov cocktails at the entrance of a club called Bounce between 2.10am and 2.26am on Sept 13.

The attack is believed to be "an act of revenge arising from a previous dispute between one of the suspects and the staff of one of the entertainment outlets at St James Power Station", said the police.

The police said they received a call at about 2.25am that day. Officers arrived to find glass shards from broken beer bottles and soot near the entrance of the club.

Investigations showed that three men lit and threw four beer bottles which were filled with petrol, before fleeing. No one was injured.

Officers worked round the clock to identify one suspect, who was arrested within 20 hours.

Three others were arrested within the next day.

The maximum punishment for committing mischief by fire or any explosive substance, knowing that it would likely cause damage to property, is seven years in jail and a fine.

Under the law, when a crime is committed jointly by several by just one of them.

Amir Hussain