SINGAPORE: A 56-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to nine weeks’ jail on Monday (Sep 15) for stealing durians and amulets in separate incidents.
Sew Swee Chai pleaded guilty to two counts of theft for stealing nine Black Gold durians from a fruit stall in Bukit Batok and pocketing three amulets at Fu Lu Shou Complex in the Rochor area two weeks later.
The court heard that Sew was loitering outside a fruit stall at Block 276, Bukit Batok East Avenue 4, on the night of Sep 6, 2024.
The stall was closed, but Sew knew it sold durian, which he was craving.
He decided to steal durians from the stall and spent a few minutes checking out its exterior. He then unplugged some electric plugs, hoping to switch off the closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) monitoring the stall.
However, the electrical supply for the CCTV cameras was from a different source, the prosecutor said.
Thinking that the cameras had been turned off, Sew walked into the stall and looked at the items there.
About five minutes later, he took nine Black Gold durians worth a total of S$250 (US$195) and put them in plastic bags before leaving.
An assistant at the stall discovered the missing durians the next day and viewed CCTV footage, which showed Sew in the act. He lodged a police report and Sew was identified.
Two weeks after this incident, Sew went to a stall at the ground floor of Fu Lu Shou Complex on Sep 20, 2024.
He looked through the amulets on the display tables and found them “attractive and to his liking”, said the prosecutor.
He took two amulets, hid them in his palm and placed them in his pocket.
He then took a third amulet and placed it inside his pocket, but the stall owner spotted him doing this.
The owner detained Sew and asked him to take the items out of his pocket. Sew retrieved the three amulets, valued at S$180 in total.
The stall owner reported the incident to the police.
While awaiting the officers, Sew tried to leave a few times, but the stall owner and another person managed to stop him. Sew was arrested when the police arrived.
Sew has made restitution for the stolen durians.
For each charge of theft, he could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.
