Man jailed 20 months for trying to start fire at Bangladeshi High Commission over ‘passport issues’

SINGAPORE – Convinced that his new passport had issues, a man went to the Bangladeshi High Commission and attempted to start a fire by pouring petrol on the ground.

He also crashed a rented lorry into a wall of Jit Poh Building in Keppel Road, which houses the Bangladeshi High Commission.

Shamim Nazrul Islam, 32, was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment on Jan 8, after he pleaded guilty to one charge of mischief and another count of mischief by fire.

Court records showed Shamim had driven the lorry to the High Commission at about 9.20am on May 23, 2025.

He had a tin can filled with petrol, as he intended to set himself on fire if the High Commission did not accede to his demands. Court documents did not state what his demands were.

When he reached Jit Poh Building, he turned into a lane leading to the loading bay and barrelled towards a wall, where several pedestrians were standing.

He crashed into the wall, dislodging the front bumper of the vehicle.

Shamim then got out of the vehicle and entered the High Commission, holding the tin can of petrol.

A staff member heard a commotion at the reception and saw Shamim shouting.

He approached Shamim, who told him that he would not be able to return to Singapore if he left the country.

When the staff member checked Shamim’s passport, he found no issues with it, as it had an expiry date of 2033.

The staff member tried to return the passport to Shamim, but he refused it. The staff member then placed the travel document on the floor and returned to work, while Shamim continued to cause a commotion.

Minutes later, another staff member approached Shamim and tried to de-escalate the situation, but Shamim remained belligerent and hostile.

The second staff member reviewed Shamim’s passport again and told him there were no issues, adding that his supervisor was coming to help.

Unappeased, Shamim said he would set himself on fire and uncapped the tin of petrol. He poured the liquid onto the floor while holding a lighter in his other hand.

Before he could start the fire, the staff member pushed him.

Security officers later subdued Shamim before the police arrived.

“When interviewed by the police, the accused indicated that he wanted to burn himself because the High Commission staff did not accede to his demands,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Jini Pillai told the court.

Shamim was arrested and charged in court on May 24, 2025. He has remained in remand since.

DPP Jini sought a jail term of at least 24 months for Shamim, noting that his act of swerving the lorry posed a real risk of injury to pedestrians who were standing near the collision point.

On Shamim’s attempt to set himself on fire, DPP Jini said there was some premeditation as he arrived at the building with a tin of petrol.

While there was no evidence of any ulterior or political motivations for his actions, he was upset over a self-perceived problem and refused to accept the reasonable explanations by the High Commission staff.

DPP Jini said: “The accused’s intentions were to self-immolate rather than necessarily set fire to the High Commission building. However... he necessarily would have known that he would endanger the commission staff he was interacting with.”

She acknowledged that there was no actual damage caused to the High Commission building, and no injuries were reported.

“However, credit ought not to be given to the accused as any injuries or damage was prevented through the fortuitous and brave intervention of High Commission staff who were able to disarm the accused from proceeding any further with his supposed plan for self-immolation.”

In mitigation, Shamim’s lawyer said his client had been working in Singapore for a long time, and was planning to fly home to visit his family.

He had renewed his passport, and received it a few days before the incident.

When he compared his new passport with his friends’ passports, he was convinced that his passport was not authentic and went to the High Commission to seek verification.

“He was concerned about returning to Singapore, and wanted to ensure that the passport would not give him any problems. But things went out of control. He has accepted that what he did was wrong and is remorseful,” said the lawyer.

For mischief, an offender can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

An offender convicted of mischief by fire can be jailed for up to 10 years, or fined.