Man picks up set of keys to Punggol flat, makes off with close to $10,000 in cash and valuables

Finders keepers? Not quite.

And it turns out that attaching your address to your house keys isn't such a good idea, especially if it lands in the wrong hands. 

That was how one man broke into a flat in Punggol, making away with close to $10,000 in cash and valuables.

According to Shin Min Daily News, a 30-year-old woman had accidentally dropped a pouch containing the keys to her home, which the man picked up.

On Wednesday (Nov 23), the 48-year-old perpetrator was sentenced to a jail term of one year, six months and two weeks for the crime he committed on May 6, the Chinese evening daily reported.

The court case detailed that after realising that the owner's home address was written on the keys, the man went to the flat.

When he arrived, the man saw that there was a CCTV camera outside the unit and proceeded to dismantle it.

Using the keys, he entered the flat and grabbed $9,796 worth of cash and valuables before leaving 17 minutes later, Shin Min reported.

The items taken included 26 pieces of jewellery, a laptop, as well as the closed circuit camera which he had removed.

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Investigations also revealed that it wasn't the only crime he'd committed that day.

According to Shin Min, the man had earlier stolen a wallet from a man around the bicycle parking area at Punggol Waterway Point.

In mitigation, the perpetrator, who is married with a child, told the court how he had run into financial difficulty following the pandemic. He had also filed for bankruptcy. 

Breaking down, he said that he "couldn't hold on anymore".

candicecai@asiaone.com