Man who threw firecracker at children as a ‘joke’ fined $3,500

SINGAPORE - Seeing a group of children at the playground near a block of flats, a man decided to throw a firecracker towards them as a “joke”.

The firecracker emitted smoke and exploded loudly soon after, scaring the children, who fled the scene.

On Monday, Ramdan Bujan, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of discharging fireworks and was fined $3,500.

Another charge of endangering the personal safety of others by committing a rash act was taken into consideration during sentencing.

The offence took place on July 28, 2022 at a Housing Board block in Jurong where Ramdan, a driver in the construction industry, lives.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Yanying said that at 3.40pm that day, two 10-year-old boys, a nine-year-old boy and their friends were at the playground on the first floor of the block.

One of the boys spotted Ramdan behaving suspiciously at the common corridor and decided to keep an eye on him.

Ramdan moved from one lift lobby to the next. He then threw a spherical object towards the children. The object, which was on fire, exploded.

“The sudden loud explosion scared the witnesses and their friends, who all quickly ran away from the explosion,” said DPP Tan.

One of them approached an adult passer-by, who called the police. Two of the boys told the police officers who arrived at the scene that a man had thrown something that exploded.

Based on their description, police officers found Ramdan at his home.

After initial denials, he soon admitted that he had thrown the firecracker towards the children as a “joke”.

Police camera footage had also captured him leaving his home with a spherical object in his hand. Shortly afterwards, a group of children is seen running towards the block, followed by Ramdan walking back to his home, smiling.

The address of the incident and the children’s identities cannot be published.

DPP Tan asked for a fine of between $3,000 and $4,000, while Ramdan’s lawyer, Mr S.S. Dhillon, asked for a minimum fine of $2,500.

The defence lawyer said the firecracker in question was “a small one”, popularly known as “chilli padi” in Malay.

Ramdan claimed he had found it lying on the pavement near a bus stop a year ago and decided to take it home.

He had decided to light it for “fun”, said his lawyer, noting that no one was hurt, nor any property damaged.

“On hindsight, he regrets his foolish actions,” said Mr Dhillon in mitigation, noting that his client was a first offender with respect to this offence and had elected to plead guilty.

He also said the accused is the sole breadwinner of his family and supports his aged mother’s medical expenses. Given his dire financial situation, a fine of $2,500 would be an appropriate deterrence, said his lawyer.