Woman who stole total of 10 Straits Times and New Paper copies jailed
SINGAPORE — A woman who stole three copies of The Straits Times and seven copies of The New Paper from Ang Mo Kio residents was jailed on Thursday (30 May).
Wong Kee Heay, 59, had also taken three packets of frozen pork and three packets of Gardenia bread from a delivery truck that had been left unattended.
At the State Courts, she was jailed four weeks after being convicted on five counts of theft. Wong was also slapped with an additional 10-day jail for breaching a remission order by stealing the food items in 2017.
Serial offender
Wong committed the offences between 29 July 2017 and 12 March this year, according to court documents.
On 13 December 2018, a newspaper vendor visited the Ang Mo Kio South NPC to lodge a police report. The vendor said he had received many complaints from his customers about missing newspapers.
During a review of police camera footage, Wong was seen behaving suspiciously at Block 346 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3. CCTV footage from a resident at the block also showed her walking down a corridor empty-handed but returning 30 seconds later with a newspaper in hand.
The same newspaper vendor lodged another police report on 13 March this year. He said he had received multiple complaints from customers at Block 346 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 regarding missing newspapers.
One of his workers had spotted Wong at the block the day before and that newspapers had gone missing from the block that same day. The vendor said that that he would lose $20 for each delivery of a replacement newspaper and that he placed the copies inside the gates of the units he delivered to.
Following a check of police camera footage, Wong was seen at the block on 6 March and 12 March – both dates on which newspapers had gone missing. When confronted, Wong admitted to having stolen the copies.
Crime of opportunity
On the morning to 29 July 2017, Wong stole three packets of Pasar-brand frozen pork and three loaves of Gardenia bread from a delivery lorry that had been left unattended in the carpark at Block 712 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6.
The driver had closed his lorry’s door but left it unlocked. He returned to find Wong taking the three packets of pork and shouted at Wong, who then threw the meat to the ground and fled the scene.
She was later detained by the driver at Block 724 Ang Mo Kio and the police were called in. Police officers who conducted a search on Wong found three packets of unopened Gardenia bread inside a recycled bag. She later admitted to having taken both food items from the lorry.
For theft, Wong could have been sentenced to a jail term up to three years or a fine or both on each charge.
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