SINGAPORE — For car rental company owner Alex Soo, the first sign of trouble came on April 24, a week after he rented a Nissan Dualis to Dwight Soriano.

Soriano, who had paid a S$400 deposit for the mini-SUV on April 17, refused to pay the weekly rental and insisted on changing the vehicle for a Toyota Vios the following day. But the 32-year-old never showed up at Syllys Auto’s Ang Mo Kio office.

Mr Soo, 37, tried calling his client but to no avail. Two days later, on April 26, he visited the address that Soriano had provided in the rental documents, where another red flag awaited him.

A police notice on the door stated that Soriano had not been living there for about five years and that the present owner of the house had applied for a “police protection order against him”. The flat owner had also made a further police report against Soriano for using the address illegally.

Mr Soo made a police report against Soriano and posted a plea on Facebook urging his friends to help locate the missing car.

A huge shock came hours later that same evening, when a friend sent him a series of photos showing his Nissan Dualis seemingly blown up from the inside.

The car, parked in a multi-storey carpark at Block 290H Bukit Batok Street 24, had all four doors blown apart. Police found butane gas canisters at the scene.

The explosion in the car park shocked many residents in the area that afternoon. A friend of Mr Soo happened to be in the area and sent photos of the damaged car to him.

“My friend went to investigate and sent me some photos, asking if it was my car,” said an exasperated Mr Soo. “I rushed down to confirm, and it was.”

A viral video taken by a resident in the area showed paramedics and bystanders attending to Soriano, who was apparently injured by the blast and crying out in pain. He was taken to the Singapore General Hospital for treatment.

Three days later, however, Soriano was charged with mischief by fire, by “causing an explosion with butane gas”. According to the charge sheet against him, the Nissan Dualis he wrecked was worth S$19,800.

If convicted, he could be jailed for up to seven years and fined.

Meanwhile, Mr Soo is still puzzling over the chain of events that led up to the destruction of one of the 25 cars in his fleet.

He first got to know Soriano through a Whatsapp chat group for Grab and Uber drivers. Soriano mentioned that he was looking for a car and that he was able to pay the required S$400 deposit for a Nissan Dualis.

For now, he is waiting to find out whether his insurance company will pay for his blown up car. Otherwise, he might sue Soriano for compensation.

“Either way, I will lose money,” said a resigned Mr Soo.