NSF hurls water bottle down from 40th floor of MBS over $10 dare - twice

A friend had offered $10 for someone to throw a water bottle down from the 40th floor of their Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel room, and Wang Li did so, twice.

For the act, the 19-year-old national serviceman was arrested and charged in court on Tuesday (Aug 1), reported CNA.

The incident took place on 29 January last year at around 12.30am.

Wang was with three other friends in the hotel room when one of them, identified as 23-year-old Marcus Lim Jia Long, came up with a challenge for someone to throw a water bottle down from the balcony for $10.

The court heard that Wang was tempted by the offer as he didn't have money on him, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Taking Lim up on the dare, Wang took an empty bottle and filled it to the halfway mark with water before flinging it down from the balcony.

The bottle landed with a loud thud behind a car. Wang immediately ran back into the room and closed the balcony door so he would not be seen by passers-by.

When Lim dangled another $10 or $15 for anyone to do it, Lim took up the challenge again. This time, Wang hurled a water bottle which was one-quarter filled with water from the balcony. The bottle was blown by the wind towards some trees, reported CNA.

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In explaining Wang's actions, the prosecutor was quoted by CNA as stating: "Since the accused had earlier thrown one bottle down, he decided that he might as well throw another bottle down."

A friend captured footage of the incident and uploaded it onto Instagram.

About a week later, a man lodged a police report stating that he had come across the video on an Instagram Story.

In his plea for leniency, Wang stated that he knew what he did was wrong and would accept his punishment, reported Shin Min Daily News. 

He also stated that he would be more careful about making friends in future.

According to media reports, the judge ordered a probation report for Wang, with sentencing for the case adjourned till Sept 12. If found guilty of committing a rash act, Wang may face a jail term of up to six months, fined up to $2,500, or both.

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candicecai@asiaone.com