Man steals $250 worth of durians from Bukit Batok stall, but pulls wrong plug on CCTV

A man thought his act of stealing would not be captured if he switched off the CCTV camera, but he unknowingly pulled the wrong power plug.

Singaporean Sew Swee Chai, 56, was sentenced to nine weeks' jail on Monday (Sept 15), after pleading guilty to two charges of theft.

The court heard that Sew was outside a durian stall located at Block 276 Bukit Batok East Avenue 4 on the night of Sept 6, 2024, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The man wanted to consume the fruit but the stall was closed. He then conceived the idea of removing from the stall's power socket a plug which he believed was connected to its CCTV system.

Sew made away with nine Black Gold durians worth about $250 that night.

The stall owner, surnamed Zhang, 40, told Shin Min that it was their refrigerator and not the CCTV camera that had been unplugged, and the act affected the condition of fruits stored inside.

A stall assistant realised that the fruits were missing the next day and informed Zhang, who checked the CCTV footage and lodged a police report.

Committed another theft 2 weeks later

According to court documents, Sew committed another theft at Fu Lu Shou Complex two weeks later on Sept 20, 2024.

He had nicked two amulets from a store and hidden them in his pants pocket when he was caught by the owner while attempting to steal a third amulet, reported the Chinese publication. The three items were worth $180 in total.

The police were called and the man was arrested.

In court on Monday, the prosecution asked for Sew to be given a severe penalty for deterrence as he had reoffended in a short time. They also raised an element of premeditation seen in his attempt to disable the CCTV camera, according to Shin Min.

Meanwhile, Sew's lawyer said his client suffers from severe depression. Sew testified that he had committed the crime as he had not taken his medication.

His lawyer asked for a lenient sentence, highlighting that Sew is undergoing treatment and has since made compensation.

[[nid:721798]]

lim.kewei@asiaone.com