In a shocking incident that unfolded on October 4th, a 40-year-old Malaysian man found himself sentenced to four months in jail for threatening his condominium neighbors with a deadly weapon, namely a chopper.
He was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of criminal intimidation and another count of arming himself with the chopper, according to Channel NewsAsia.
A Clash of Neighbors
The story revolves around 40-year-old Lo Kok Yong, a Malaysian national, and his wife, who is a Chinese national.
In May 2021, they moved into a unit on the first floor of the Regentville condominium in Hougang, Singapore. The couple, both Singapore permanent residents, soon found themselves embroiled in a dispute over perceived noise issues stemming from the unit directly above theirs.
Repeated Complaints and Frustration
From July to August 2021, Lo and his wife filed three police reports regarding the noise disturbances. They also lodged multiple complaints with the condominium’s managing committee. The escalating situation reached its breaking point in the early hours of August 17th.
Around 5 a.m. on that day, Lo heard what he believed to be excessive noise from the unit above. Frustrated and sleep-deprived, he resorted to using a plastic stick to knock on his ceiling, intending to convey to his neighbors that they were being too noisy. While this temporarily stopped the noise, it wasn’t a lasting solution.
Around an hour later, the noise resumed, further aggravating Lo’s already frayed nerves. In desperation, at approximately 7:30 a.m., Lo’s wife contacted the condominium security. A security guard accompanied her to the second-floor unit to address the issue directly.
As the confrontation between Lo’s wife and the occupants of the noisy unit unfolded, Lo himself decided to take matters into his own hands. He retrieved a chopper from his kitchen and proceeded upstairs.
A Terrifying Ultimatum
Walking along the second-floor corridor with the chopper in hand, Lo issued a chilling ultimatum to the occupants of the unit: “If you make noise again, I don’t mind exchanging my one life for your whole family’s life.” This threat sent shockwaves through the victims, who promptly closed their door and called the police.
Lo’s actions escalated when he used the chopper to strike the victims’ gate several times, causing visible damage. The police later arrived within approximately 10 minutes and promptly arrested Lo.