FIERY WORDS = 10 WEEKS JAIL

FIERY WORDS = 10 WEEKS JAIL

Upset by bad grades, student threatens to burn his school down

By Desmond Ng
January 14, 2009

UPSET about your grades? Here's a lesson on what not to do about it.

Former ITE student Muhammad Faizal Noor Mohamed was so incensed by his results that he threatened to burn the school down.

The 27-year-old was unhappy with his grades and asked to speak to the lecturers. But the meeting at ITE College Central on Circuit Road didn't go well. Faizal stared at one lecturer, Mr Tammilmani Manickam and said: 'I will burn this place down'.

He was charged with criminal intimidation and sentenced to 10 weeks jail last month. He is appealing against his conviction.

Faizal, a former student of ITE Yishun, had met this lecturer together with ITE College Central lecturer Jessie Ong, an ITE College Central director and four other lecturers from MOE to discuss his grades.

The formal meeting took place last February, according to court papers. Faizal was unhappy that his grades could not get him into a polytechnic.

During the meeting, he became upset with Mr Manickam because he thought the lecturer was being blunt. He stared at him and uttered the fateful words.

Mr Manickam was taken aback. Ms Ong later called the police.

In mitigation, Faizal said he was supporting himself when he was a student at the ITE and had to do 'major part-time jobs' to pay his fees.

He had also planned to further his studies in a polytechnic, but his grades were not good enough.

Faizal had submitted a letter of apology to the ITE saying he regretted his actions, was remorseful and promised to be a law-abiding citizen.

In sentencing, district judge F G Remedios said Faizal had stared at a lecturer at the ITE and, in the presence of the lecturer and other staff, threatened to set the school on fire.

Said the judge: 'It was a threat to do serious damage and was being made by an angry young man whose future was being affected by the grades that he had received. The threat was directed at the lecturer and others whom the accused was holding responsible for his unsatisfactory grades.

'It was clear that the accused intended to alarm the victim, and there was every reason for the victim and the others present to be very alarmed.'

The court also took into consideration another charge of committing mischief for damaging a glass door costing about $940. He did this at 7pm that day, 21/2 hours after making the arson threat.

Source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,189692,00.html?