One arsonist jailed one in secure care

Benjamin Webb (left) and Jaswir Singh were sentenced in Tauranga District Court yesterday. Photo / George Novak

One of two Tauranga men who committed arson attacks on a Maungatapu home, a mobility scooter and rubbish bins at a school, causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage, has been jailed for 44 months.

The other, who helped to set fire to his adoptive parents' home, causing $120,000 of damage, will be held in secure care for at least 34 months at a Hamilton mental health centre, because of his more complex needs. Benjamin Thomas Webb, 22, and Jaswir Singh, 21, who had pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary and three of arson were sentenced in Tauranga District Court yesterday.

Both men were ordered to pay a total of $435 each reparation for the destroyed rubbish bins and one of the burglaries - Singh had already paid to replace the mobility scooter.

The arson offences, committed between April 27 and May 4, included lighting a fire under a mobility scooter near the corner of 17th Ave and Devonport Rd causing $4000 of damage.

The pair also set fire to two rubbish bins at Tauranga Boys' College - Singh was a former student.

On May 2, after burgling Singh's adoptive parents Maungatapu home, the pair returned later the same day to douse a bedroom with a stolen can of petrol before setting it alight.

Crown prosecutor Heidi Wrigley told Judge Louis Bidois the arsons required deterrent sentences because of the potential risk to life and the substantial harm caused.

Both offenders had diminished intellectual capacity but it was accepted that Singh also suffered from an attention deficit disorder and therefore had more complex needs.

Judge Bidois said despite the pair's intellectual problems, he held both men equally responsible.