Two brothers jailed for throwing Molotov cocktails

Duo committed offence with 3 friends after older sibling and pals thrown out of nightspot

As they were about to commit the crime at St James Power Station (right), three of the accused realised that their intended target, Club Hollywood, was quite a distance from where they were positioned. "As such, they decided to throw the Molotovs at
As they were about to commit the crime at St James Power Station (right), three of the accused realised that their intended target, Club Hollywood, was quite a distance from where they were positioned. "As such, they decided to throw the Molotovs at the outlet closest to the carpark," said the prosecution. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Two brothers flung Molotov cocktails at a bar in St James Power Station after bouncers told the older sibling and his friends to get out of another nightspot in the vicinity following a dispute.

Bryan Ho Chang Rong, 29, was sentenced to two years and four months' jail yesterday while his younger brother Cephas Ho Jin An, 26, was jailed for two years and nine months.

The pair, who committed the offence with three friends, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count each of committing mischief by fire. Cephas Ho had also admitted to consuming cannabis and being in possession of the drug.

Two of their friends were dealt with in court in March.

Toh Wei Yi, 29, was sentenced to 20 months' jail and Daryl Tay Kai Long, 28, who also admitted to drug-related offences, will spend 51/2 years behind bars. A fifth man, Eugene Lim Huang Sheng, died on July 11, 2017.

Bryan Ho and his friends went to Club Hollywood Thai disco in St James Power Station on Sept 12, 2016, but bouncers later threw them out after they had a dispute with another group of clubbers. Court documents did not reveal details of the dispute.

Bryan Ho told his brother about what happened and decided to throw Molotov cocktails at Club Hollywood. The brothers' three friends also agreed to take part in the attack.

Tay drove his friends to St James Power Station sometime after midnight the following day.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok said Tay and Toh remained in the car while the three others alighted. They had four Molotov cocktails that had socks as wicks.

"The trio climbed some railings to St James' carpark where they hid behind some parked cars. There, they realised that their intended target, Club Hollywood, was quite a distance from where they were positioned.

"As such, they decided to throw the Molotovs at the outlet closest to the carpark...This outlet was Postbar," added the prosecution.

After setting fire to the wicks, they threw the Molotov cocktails at the nightspot, creating a "ball of flames" as the bottles shattered when they hit the floor .

After that, the men ran to the car and fled. The court heard that bouncers managed to put out the fire and all five men were later arrested.

Cephas Ho is now out on bail of $20,000 while his older brother's bail was set at $15,000. They will surrender themselves at the State Courts on June 21 to begin serving their sentences.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 18, 2019, with the headline Two brothers jailed for throwing Molotov cocktails. Subscribe