WATERVLIET ISN'T MUCH LIKE SINGAPORE THERE, A VANDAL WILL BE FLOGGED. PUNISHMENT HERE IS FAR LIGHTER.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: VINCENT JACKSON Staff Writer

WATERVLIET Michael Fay, the American teenager who vandalized 18 cars in Singapore, faces a professional flogging with a cane on his buttocks.

In the case of whoever flattened the tires of five vehicles in Watervliet sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, ``You have to look at the circumstances,'' said city Police Chief Francis Landrigan. ``There are too many variables in this country to say what will happen once arrested.''

Vandalism ``is very difficult to deal with. It takes a moment to cut a tire,'' said Landrigan.

He noted that it is easy to cause more than $250 worth of damage to a …