Two men have been charged over an illegal fireworks display in Little India earlier this week, as the police made arrests and conducted investigations over two similar incidents elsewhere.
Thiagu Selvarajoo, 29, was yesterday charged with letting off dangerous fireworks, and Siva Kumar Subramaniam, 48, with abetting him.
Siva Kumar had allegedly helped place a box of Happy Boom fireworks on a road divider in Gloucester Road shortly before midnight on Monday. Court documents did not reveal how the fireworks were procured. Thiagu allegedly discharged them that evening.
The Straits Times earlier reported that a police officer spotted bursts of fireworks in the area at around midnight.
The police said that through inquiries, officers from the Central Police Division managed to establish the identities of those involved in setting off the fireworks. The duo were arrested on Tuesday.
A video of the fireworks display made the rounds on social media.
Facebook group SG Road Vigilante-SGRV posted the video on Tuesday afternoon along with a post which read: "Illegal fireworks being set off at Race Course Road. Singapore police officers can be seen rushing towards the scene."
The post ended by wishing people a happy Diwali or Deepavali, a Hindu holiday also known as the Festival of Lights.
Several netizens left comments speculating that the fireworks had been set off to celebrate the holiday on Tuesday. The two Singaporeans are in remand and will be back in court on Nov 14.
Two other men were arrested on Deepavali after fireworks were set off in Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 at Block 194B at 7.49pm on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses told Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao that the fireworks shot up to at least 10 storeys high, and that a group of residents rushed down after hearing the explosions to try and find the culprits.
Two men aged 18 and 54 were subsequently arrested over discharging of dangerous fireworks. According to Wanbao, the pair are believed to be father and son. No injuries were reported.
Mr Jackson Teo, 22, who lives in a neighbouring block, said he was in his room when he heard a loud noise. When he looked out of the window, he saw fireworks shooting up to the 13th storey of Block 194B.
Mr Teo, who has been living in the area for 21 years, said this was the first time such an incident had happened in his neighbourhood.
"If they wanted to set off fireworks, they should have found an open space - but this was right next to the block," he said.
Several hours later, residents in Yishun also heard loud explosions as fireworks were discharged in the area at around 3am yesterday. The police confirmed that a report was filed on this incident.
The Government started regulating the use of fireworks in 1968 when the practice of lighting celebratory fireworks became a serious public safety issue. Certain types of fireworks were banned but fires were still caused. A total ban was rolled out on Aug 1, 1972.
