Gold bar thief arrested

SINGAPORE - Police have arrested a 46-year-old man for theft of gold bars at a pawnshop within 15 hours of report.

On Nov 26, 2013 at about 2.15pm, the man had entered the pawnshop located in the vicinity of Bukit Merah Central on the pretext of buying gold bars. The staff then handed over three gold bars to the man for viewing. While appearing to view the gold bars, the man suddenly bolted out of the premises with the gold bars in hand and fled towards Jalan Bukit Merah.

Following the report, officers from Clementi Police Division responded to the scene immediately and carried out thorough on-scene investigations. On Nov 27, 2013 at about 4.45am, through extensive follow-up investigations and ground enquiries, officers managed to trace the man and placed him under arrest in the vicinity of Sims Avenue.

Two of the gold bars, valued at about $9,400 were found in the man's possession and seized as case exhibits. On the same day, at about 12.35pm, through follow up investigations, officers recovered the remaining gold bar valued at about $6,200 at a pawnshop in the vicinity of South Bridge Road.

If found guilty, the man can face a maximum punishment of seven years imprisonment and also a fine.

Commander of Clementi Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police (DAC) Melvin Yong, commended his officers for their excellent teamwork and investigative follow up which led to the arrest of the suspect.

DAC Yong said that Police will spare no effort to track down those involved in such blatant crimes and ensure that they face the full brunt of the law.

spanaech@sph.com.sg