NTU professor gets 18 months' mandatory treatment order for shoplifting
A Nanyang Technological University (NTU) professor convicted of shoplifting was ordered to undergo a Mandatory Treatment Order (MTO) for 18 months on Monday (22 May).
Er Meng Joo, 55, a professor at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, pleaded guilty to stealing items such as toiletries, air fresheners and pineapple tarts on seven occasions in January last year. The items he stole were worth $453.35 in total.
He was convicted on two counts of shoplifting items worth $225.15 on 20 April this year. Five other shoplifting charges taken into consideration.
Er stole from NTUC FairPrice outlets at two Esso petrol kiosks along Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road between 9 and 29 Jan last year.
Store manager Lam Wing Kin noticed Er behaving suspiciously while in the Dunearn Road outlet and reviewed CCTV footage from the outlet.
A recording from 27 Jan showed Er lifting items such as mouthwash and a wall charger. Another recording from 29 Jan showed him stealing a power bank, air fresheners and a micro USB cable.
Realising Er was a regular, Lam traced Er’s name and his car plate number before lodging a police report on 30 Jan. Er confessed to the offences when police officers visited his home.
In sentencing Er, District Judge (DJ) Eddy Tham took into account the nature of the offence and the opinion of the psychiatrist who assessed Er to be suitable for an MTO.
An MTO is given to offenders suffering from psychiatric conditions in lieu of a jail term if their condition is deemed to have contributed to their offences.
According to the psychiatrist, Er had a depressive episode that was a contributing factor to the offences, said DJ Tham. Referring to the report, he added that Er’s psychiatric condition was suitable for treatment.
Er will be required to comply with the conditions set by the psychiatrist during the MTO or be hauled to court for a separate sentence.
Er, who was an elected member of NTU’s Advisory Board from 2009 to 2012, has a slew of awards listed under his profile. These include the Outstanding Mentor Award in 2014, the Most Zealous Professor of the Year Award in 2009 and the Teacher of the Year Award for the School of electrical and electronic engineering in 1999.
For each count of shoplifting, he could have been jailed for up to three years and fined.