A Perth landlord has been fined after telling tenants: “I’ll burn this house down with you in it.”
Shopkeeper Gurcharan Singh was arrested after threatening a couple renting his two-bedroom bungalow in Goodlyburn Place.
His rage-filled rant – triggered after learning the couple had applied for council housing – was caught on their Ring Doorbell camera.
Singh, 66, returned to Perth Sheriff Court for sentencing, having previously pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to cause fear or alarm, on September 1.
Sheriff William Gilchrist told him: “Any threat to anyone is unacceptable but a landlord threatening tenants – whatever the circumstances – is doubly so.
“I will draw a line under this by imposing a financial penalty.”
Singh, of Edinburgh Road, was fined £400.
Still registered as landlord
The court heard how Singh went to Stuart Oliphant and Michelle Grant’s door and became confrontational.
He told them: “I’ll burn this house down with you in it” and added: “I’ll punch your face.”
It is understood he is still on the landlord’s register, the court heard.
Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said: “Mr Singh’s record is unremarkable with one road traffic matter of some vintage.”
She said Mr Oliphant and Ms Grant had been tenants for about 10 years, paying him £575 cash per calendar month.
Mr Oliphant was previously employed by Mr Singh for eight years, until he suffered a stroke.
Complaints about garden
Ms Clark said her client had received complaints from neighbours about the state of the garden, with rats and rubbish lying around.
“He had challenged the tenants about this on several occasions,” she said.
“Mr Singh then received a letter from Perth and Kinross Council, asking for a reference.”
Ms Clark said: “This came as something of a surprise to him.
“He accepts he went to the property and was generally annoyed by the state of it.
“When one of the tenants began to film him, and laughed at queries he had, it did not aid the situation.
“He accepts that he did act inappropriately but he left when he felt things were getting out of hand.”
Ms Clark said her client had to pay a “considerable cost” to clean up the house after the tenants left.
Perth and Kinross Council declined to comment on whether any action will be taken against Singh as a registered landlord following his conviction.
For more local court content visit our dedicated page or join us on Facebook.
