Ardent on sending a message to sport utility vehicles (SUVs) owners about the environmental impact their vehicles made, a student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) proceeded to flatten the tyres via an unconventional method.
He was later arrested and pleaded guilty to one charge of mischief, resulting in a hefty fine being handed to him.
Used green beans to flatten SUVs’ tyres
According to court documents, Benjamin Chia Yit Loong was interested in climate change and environmental issues, and wished to make ownership of SUVs unattractive.
Thus, on Nov 19, 2024, he bought a pack of green beans and went to two multi-storey carparks in Woodlands Drive 14 at around 10am.
There, he deflated the tyres of seven SUVs by first unscrewing the tyre cap and placing green beans inside the tyre valve before closing the cap, which caused the tyres to deflate.
The first SUV had all four of its tyres deflated, while the remaining six cars had one to two tyres deflated, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Left flyers on SUVs’ windshield
After deflating the tyres, Chia left a flyer on each of the SUV’s windshield, which stated the reason why the tyres were deflated was because “driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others.”
The flyer also outlined the environmental harm SUVs posed as they are reportedly the second-largest contributor to the rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade.
Even if you don’t care about the impacts on people far away from you, there’s also consequences for your neighbours…That’s why we have taken this action.
“You will have no difficulty getting around without your gas guzzler, with walking, cycling or public transit,” part of the flyer read, along with a link to a website called Tyre Extinguishers at the end of it.
Car damaged due to deflated tyres
One of the affected SUV owners later drove the vehicle to a petrol station to reinflate the tyres.
But in the midst of doing so, the car scraped against the kerb of the carpark space, causing damage to the rear spat and requiring repairs of $380 (approx. RM1,200).
Chia was arrested on the same day he deflated the tyres but was later released on court bail on Nov 21. 2024. He also made a voluntary compensation to the victim.
Fined RM9,500 by court
Yesterday (Nov 6), Chia pleaded guilty to one charge of mischief, which carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.
The prosecution sought for a fine, stating that Chia was a minor and had no prior convictions.
He was eventually fined S$3,000 (approx. RM9,500) for the offense.
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