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Annoyed with the doves outside his Housing Board floor, a man used a catapult to shoot them but ended up damaging two wedding cars nearby.
Police were able to narrow the search down to four units in Woodlands after the Health Sciences Authority conducted a projectile analysis.
Samuel Tan Joo Soon was arrested after he admitted to using a wooden catapult found in his home to shoot the birds.
Yesterday, Tan, 53, was sentenced to three weeks in jail after pleading guilty to one count of a reckless act that endangered the personal safety of others.
Another charge of possession of a wooden catapult, an offensive instrument, was taken into consideration.
Tan bought the wooden catapult in 2008 to shoot rocks at the birds in the trees around his house.
In 2016, he became annoyed with pigeons as they defecated on his unit’s window sills or on his air conditioning compressor.
He chased away the pigeons using squirt guns to spray them, but they kept coming back.
In 2017, Tan purchased two packs of 8mm metal ball bearings from an online shopping website.
To improve his aim, he practiced shooting at trees.
As his aim improved, he pointed the ball bearings at the pigeons as they flew towards his air conditioning compressor.
They then congregated in the opposite block, but Tan did not stop as their presence irritated him.
On July 1, 2017, at approximately 7 a.m., a convoy of five vehicles arrived for a crash party at the door of a wedding and two of the cars parked near the block.
Tan woke up and started shooting pigeons. She had seen them on a ledge in the block across the street.
The groomsmen and bridesmaids were playing door-breaking games on the empty deck of Block 762 Woodlands Avenue 6.
Despite being aware of the bridal party, Tan continued to rain ball bearings to the pigeons.
Some of the bridesmaids heard some “popping” sounds but could not determine the source of the noise.
When the two drivers returned, they discovered dents in their cars and holes in the rear windshields.
One of them called the police. Repairs to one vehicle totaled more than $ 2,400, but the cost of the damage to the other vehicle could not be determined as it was scrapped without repairs.
Assistant District Attorney Chong Kee En asked for four weeks in jail, citing reasons including how Tan was shooting in a housing estate and was fully aware of activities taking place nearby.
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