Chilean couple jailed over 'soya sauce' plot to steal $51,000 from moneychanger's courier
SINGAPORE — A Chilean couple who came to Singapore with criminal intentions planned to steal from a moneychanger’s courier by splashing soya sauce on the victim’s shirt and then stealing the money while the latter was distracted.
However, the plan was foiled when the courier, Hasan Mohamed M Abdul Kader, ignored one of the pair’s offer of tissue to clean himself and proceeded to the bank with the $51,000 in cash that he was carrying at the time.
On Tuesday (15 October), the 28-year-old Rodrigo Andres De La Fuente Caamano and 27-year-old Maria Margarita Alvarado Vicuna were each sentenced to four months’ jail. Each had pleaded guilty to one count of attempted theft with common intention.
Not here for a holiday
The couple arrived in Singapore from Korea on 26 September with plans to steal from others.
Their modus operandi entailed Caamano bumping into victims and staining their clothes. Vicuna would then offer the victim tissue paper to clean up with while Caamano would then steal from the victim.
A day after their arrival, the couple visited the Market Street Interim Hawker Centre to buy two plastic bags of black soya sauce from a noodle stall. They then headed to The Arcade at Raffles Place to look for potential victims.
The pair loitered at the building at around 11.30am, with security cameras capturing Caamano eyeing Hasan, who was working as a courier for Arcade Money Changer. The moneychanger was located at the first floor of the building.
At about 12.10pm, Hasan was tasked to buy foreign currencies from the RHB Bank, located at 90 Cecil Street. His employer handed Hasan $51,000 in cash, which he placed in a black sling bag. CCTV footage showed Caamano moving closer to Hasan as he did so.
Hasan then headed towards RHB Bank, which is a seven minutes’ walk away from the moneychanger. The moment he left, Caamino made a phone call to Vicuna to alert her about Hasan’s departure. The pair then began following Hasan.
Along the way, Caamino took a packet of soya sauce from Vicuna and approached Hasan. Caamino then pretended to accidentally bump into the latter near a bus stop along Cecil Street in front of Prudential Towers.
As he did so, Caamino splashed the soya sauce onto Hasan’s shirt. When Hasan looked at Caamino, the latter looked away as if nothing had happened.
Hasan continued on his way towards RHB bank. While at the traffic light at the junction of Cecil Street and Cross Street, Vicuna went up to Hasan to tell him about the black stain on his shirt. She repeatedly pointed at the stain to get his attention and offered tissue paper to him.
However, Hasan ignored Vicuna and hurried towards RHB bank, foiling the couple’s plan. He later felt that something was amiss and reported the matter to his employer. A police report was then lodged.
The couple were arrested at the People’s Park Complex in Chinatown the following day.
Attempted theft carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine or both.
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