[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: After encountering a Nerf toy gun at a mall, a man was curious to see how it worked and embarked on a quest to make his own air pistol that could fire steel ball bearings.
After studying airgun-making tutorials on YouTube and conducting various test firing from his Jurong West flat, the sheet metal worker made three airguns from scrap scrap from his company’s workshop. His shots damaged the windows of nine neighbors.
Lee Keng Hee, 64, was jailed for 18 weeks and fined S $ 2,000 on Wednesday (December 16). He pleaded guilty to one count of manufacturing a compressed air rifle under the Weapons and Explosives Act and another count of committing a reckless act of shooting ball bearings with the weapon. Two other charges were considered in the sentence.
The court heard that Lee came across a toy gun at a shopping mall in 2017 and purchased it to study its firing mechanism. He tried to reverse engineer his mechanism and make his own air pistol, but was unsuccessful.
He decided to make his from scratch and was determined to make one that was more powerful than Nerf guns. After deciding to make an airgun made of metal that could fire steel ball bearings, Lee began studying airgun making tutorials on YouTube.
He used scrap scrap from his company’s workshop and assembled the components from the air chamber to the barrel to form the air guns.
Lee struggled to build his first air pistol in late 2017 and began manufacturing his second incorporating the use of a bicycle air pump valve. He completed both guns in mid-2018 and tested them at home by firing ball bearings into a cardboard box.
In addition, he fired test shots with the second pistol at trees planted about 10 to 15 meters from his block, positioning himself at the window of his living room.
LEE: Man who hit wedding cars with metal ball bearings while shooting pigeons is jailed
When the second pistol broke down with use, Lee began making a third air pistol, which he hoped would be more powerful and consistent than its predecessors. It took him around three months to make this pistol, with a larger air chamber, and he first tested it with a cardboard box on his floor.
He later used the trees for target practice and went on to fire at other Housing Board blocks to determine the range of this third air pistol.
Between September 2018 and April 2019, Lee used his air pistols to fire metal ball bearings from his eighth floor floor into neighboring blocks on at least nine occasions.
Nine of his neighbors had damaged windows as a result of Lee’s shooting. On the night of April 3 last year, one of them called the police about a crack in his bedroom window.
READ: Former Auxiliary Police Officer Jailed For Slaughtering Shotgun Ravens With No Security Officer Present
Lee was arrested after extensive investigations of the surrounding blocks, and his homemade air pistols and components were seized.
An evaluation found that ball bearings fired by one of Lee’s pistols could cause non-lethal injuries if pointed at a person and could break window glass.
A HIGH DEGREE OF PERSISTENCE
Assistant District Attorney Regina Lim asked for at least four months and six weeks in jail and a fine, saying the air pistols Lee made were inherently dangerous, with wide firing ranges and significant firing power.
He also showed “a high degree of persistence in the manufacture of his air rifle”, and took 10 months to manufacture all three weapons. In all, he fired at least 200 6mm ball bearings while manufacturing the arms.
Lee also fired his airsoft gun nine times at occupied residential blocks, damaging the windows of nine apartments, costing homeowners about S $ 2,000 to repair.
Defense attorney Favian Kang asked instead for “a short prison term and a small fine,” saying that his client had voluntarily made restitution, selling his late mother’s jewelry to do so.
He also cooperated with the police and helped them with sketches and investigations, the attorney said. Lee is the sole breadwinner in the family and quit his job before the hearing, he added.
For manufacturing an airsoft gun, Lee could have been jailed for up to three years and fined up to S $ 10,000.
