SINGAPORE - A man left about three lit cigarettes unattended in a Hotel 81 room, causing more than $7,000 in damage when a fire broke out.

A hotel guest and a man who was manning the front office had to be taken to the Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.

On Tuesday (Sept 14), the offender, Yasslee Rusdi, now 40, was sentenced to a year and three months' jail.

The Singaporean pleaded guilty to one count each of rashly causing a fire, methamphetamine consumption and being in possession of drug-related utensils.

On May 5 this year, Yasslee checked into a room at Hotel 81 Selegie at around 5.40pm.

Despite knowing that he was in a non-smoking room, he went on to smoke about half a packet of cigarettes, and left about three lit cigarettes on top of a bed frame.

He left the room at around 11pm.

A fire alarm went off and Mr Alvin Quek, 30, who was manning the front office, received calls from hotel guests after they smelt smoke.

He decided to investigate and saw smoke coming out through a gap at the bottom of a door to Yasslee's room.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Chia said Mr Quek was unable to open the door fully due to items propped against it.

His bid to extinguish the flames through a gap in the door with a fire extinguisher did not succeed.

Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived and put out the fire by using an internal reel jet.

They also took Mr Quek and a hotel guest to hospital.

The police arrested Yasslee on May 7 and found that he was in possession of drug-related items, including a glass pipe.

His urine sample revealed traces of methamphetamine.

For rashly causing a fire, an offender can be jailed up to 18 months and fined.

For methamphetamine consumption, an offender can be jailed up to 10 years and fined up to $20,000.