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Man who broke into flat to shower, used stolen pants as towel, jailed 5 months

At the State Courts on Wednesday (27 May), Rasidin Mohd Yusof – who is unemployed – was jailed five months after pleading guilty to one count of housebreaking. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
At the State Courts on Wednesday (27 May), Rasidin Mohd Yusof – who is unemployed – was jailed five months after pleading guilty to one count of housebreaking. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — A man with a history of breaking into homes entered one in March to take a shower and was drying his hair with a pair of pants when the homeowner and her daughter returned.

Both found 51-year-old Rasidin Mohd Yusof’s head sticking out of the toilet looking at them. When they quizzed him on what he was doing inside their home, Rasidin repeatedly said “no” and fled the unit.

As he did, the homeowner managed to grab her daughter’s pants back from him.

At the State Courts on Wednesday (27 May), Rasidin – who is unemployed – was jailed five months after pleading guilty to one count of housebreaking. He will have to serve an additional four days’ jail as he committed his latest offence while on remission for a 2017 theft conviction.

Looking to annoy

On 28 March, the 27-year-old homeowner and her daughter left their flat to have dinner. They switched off the lights in the unit but did not lock the gate or main door.

Around the same time, Rasidin walked to the unit and tilted upwards the victim’s CCTV camera that was placed outside the unit. He then entered the unit with the intention of annoying the owner.

While inside, Rasidin bumped into another CCTV camera, causing it to become unplugged. He rummaged through the victims’ belongings and then took a shower in the toilet.

“The accused also helped himself to a pair of pants belonging to the victim’s daughter and used it to dry his hair,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Delicia Tan told the court via video-link.

At about 10.30pm, the victim and her daughter returned to the unit. Upon entering, the woman noticed that the toilet lights were switched on. She spotted Rasidin with his head sticking out of the toilet and facing them.

She demanded to know who Rasidin was and why he was there, but Rasidin simply said “no” repeatedly and fled. As he ran, the woman grabbed her daughter’s pants from him.

The woman called the police saying that her laptop and in-house CCTV camera had been tampered with. She added that she did not know who Rasidin was and that none of her belongings were missing.

The police established the identity of Rasidin and issued a police gazette for his arrest. Rasidin was apprehended on 1 April.

Rasidin had been on remission from a previous theft conviction when he committed his latest offence. He will have to serve the remaining term of his remission in jail. His criminal history – mostly involving theft and housebreaking – dates as far back as 1982.

While an Institute of Mental Heath (IMH) report stated that Rasidin suffers from substance use disorder and adjustment disorder with depressed mood, DPP Tan said that there was no link between the offences and his disorder as Rasidin had presented contradictory details to his IMH assessor.

Rasidin had claimed that a voice had told him to enter the unit as his mother was inside. His actions, however, showed that he had been able to focus and maintain an even temper with things both in and outside of the unit, said DPP Tan.

In mitigation, Rasidin, who was unrepresented, said he committed the offence as his mother had died last year.

“I was in a state of depression, I’m pleading with your honour to give one more chance to return to community as I would like to become a better person. After I finish serving sentence I’m going to get married I’m pleading for your leniency,” he said via a video link.

For housebreaking, Rasidin could have been jailed up to three years, fined, or both.

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