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Singaporean Kerri Kassan, 54, has been jailed for 12 years by the Batam district court for intentionally starting a neighbourhood fire that killed a nine-year-old child and burned down 44 homes, as reported by The Straits Times.

“The accused’s actions sparked an extraordinary blaze with a sizeable amount of damage and caused the loss of a life,” said presiding judge Reno Listowo, as he handed down the sentence yesterday.

Prosecutors had pressed for 10 years in jail for Kerri for intentional arson that endangered life, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in jail.

He has seven days to file an appeal, and he appeared in a relaxed mood yesterday when he told reporters he had not yet decided whether to do so.

Kerri, a construction worker, set fire to two pairs of rubber footwear belonging to Ms Saliati, his Indonesian wife of five years, last August over a domestic tiff.

The early morning fire spread across the crowded residential area of Kampung Seraya in Batam, displacing 364 individuals and causing some 1.5 billion rupiah (S$195,000) in damage, the court heard last month.

The hearing was attended by the family members of the dead victim and those who had lost their homes.

Madam Rosmawati, the mother of nine-year-old Stella Hitipeaw who died in the blaze, told reporters yesterday that she was disappointed with the verdict.

“I had hoped he would receive the most severe punishment, even the life sentence which police mentioned when investigating the case,” she said.

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