Singapore
By Lydia Lam 15 Jul 2021 01:43PM (Updated: 15 Jul 2021 01:50PM )
SINGAPORE: A woman who roped her boyfriend and his twin in to help steal S$57,000 worth of items from her own family was sentenced to probation on Thursday (Jul 15).
Tiffany Tan Hwee Shuan, 22, was given 15 months' probation and will have to perform 60 hours of community service. Her parents furnished a bond of S$5,000 to ensure her good behaviour.
The prosecution had pushed for jail, pointing out that the twins had received nine to 15 weeks' imprisonment, but the judge considered various factors including how the victims have forgiven Tan.
She had pleaded guilty to one charge of theft with common intention, with a second charge considered in sentencing.
At the time of the offence, she was dating co-accused Oh Jia Kai, 25. Jia Kai had a twin, Oh Jia Cheng.
The court heard that Tan had planned to steal a safe from her 29-year-old older brother when her family was out.
She planned to steal what court documents described as "piggy banks" in his room to make it look like there was a break-in, and later intended to steal S$34,000 in cash from her father's bag.
She told her boyfriend about her plan and asked for his help, which he agreed to. Her boyfriend's twin also agreed to help.
On Jul 10 last year, Tan rented a BMW car for her personal transport, before renting another Suzuki Swift vehicle intending to store the stolen goods inside.
On Jul 11, 2020, Tan briefed the twins about their roles and parked the Suzuki Swift in an open car park.
THE PLAN IN MOTION
That night, when her father and brother were out, Tan took her mother out for supper with her boyfriend so the house would be empty.
When they got to the BMW, Tan said she had left her phone behind, and pretended to head back home to get it. This was a ruse so she could carry out her plan.
Her boyfriend waited in the car with Tan's mother to make sure she did not go back up to the house. Meanwhile, Jia Cheng went to the unit with a black bag and met Tan.
Inside, Tan placed her brother's safe into an IKEA bag, before taking all the piggy banks in the house. She also took her father's envelope containing cash of S$34,000, a Louis Vuitton pouch and a box containing money.
She covered the items in the bag with pieces of white cloth and dragged it to the lift lobby, where Jia Cheng helped her to transport the items into the Suzuki Swift.
Tan then returned to the BMW and went for supper with her mother and boyfriend.
SHE PRETENDED TO HAVE LOST ITEMS TOO
When Tan's brother returned home, he realised that his valuables, including the safe that contained a Rolex watch and cash, were missing.
Tan's father discovered his cash was missing, while Tan pretended that she had lost S$3,000 as well to keep up the ruse.
Her brother called the police. Tan and Jia Kai later transferred the stolen items from the boot of the Suzuki to the BMW. Jia Kai called a fourth party, 25-year-old co-accused Vincent Koo Bing Jie, asking for help.
Koo was Jia Cheng's friend, and Jia Kai lied to him that Jia Cheng was in trouble and that the trio had taken items from Tan's house, but that Jia Cheng had not disguised himself properly.
Tan and Jia Cheng got Koo to help break the safe open, which he managed to do so. Inside were two gold rings, a Rolex watch, a red packet filled with cash, two sets of 12 Zodiac coins and a plastic bag containing old Singapore dollar notes.
After helping to place the valuables in a luggage bag, Koo told them he did not want to be involved anymore, and Jia Cheng got another friend to help store the luggage.
The thieves then agreed to store the luggage at Mandarin Self Storage, where they placed the stolen goods in a storage room.
HOW JIA KAI SPENT PART OF THE MONEY
Jia Kai later used S$14,000 to spend on Tan for her birthday on Jul 23. He gave her S$950 in cash, spent S$2,800 on a birthday party for her, and gave her a S$3,150 Louis Vuitton bag with S$7,100 in cash inside.
The police raided the self-storage facility on Jul 22, 2020. They found the IKEA bag and other valuables including S$6,895 in cash, the sets of Zodiac coins, foreign currencies, the Rolex watch and gold rings.
They recovered another S$20,000 in stolen cash that had been left at a friend's place for safekeeping and found the bag with S$7,100 cash.
The police arrested Tan, who was captured on police camera footage taking the lift at her home on the night of the incident.
They nabbed Jia Cheng, who was shown on footage taking the lift with a black bag and returning with a bulky IKEA bag and items in the black bag.
Initially, he denied his involvement and told the police he was not close to Tan nor his twin, while Tan and Jia Kai admitted to their offences.
PROSECUTOR PUSHED FOR JAIL
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu said the fact that the victims had forgiven Tan should not affect the sentence, citing an earlier judgment that said this was a private matter between the victim and the offender.
Lawyer Sara Ng said the facts were that the victims also happen to be Tan's family, and for community-based sentencing, especially probation, the support level of the family is the main factor.
District Judge Toh Yung Cheong got Tan's brother to confirm that he had forgiven his sister and would support her, and he confirmed this. He made similar requests of her parents.
He said he noted the prosecution's push for a jail term, citing how the twins were given jail, and that Tan as a mastermind should also be imprisoned.
However, he noted that Tan was three years younger than the twins at the time of the offence. He said he had carefully scrutinised the probation report and was of the view that the impact on the victims had been reduced.
Not only has Tan's brother forgiven her, he is also her bailor.
"In light of these exceptional factors, I'm of the view probation should be imposed," said Judge Toh.
For theft with common intention, Tan could have been jailed up to three years, fined, or both.
Jia Kai was given 15 weeks' jail in May, while his brother was jailed for nine weeks.
Source: CNA/ll(ac)
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Woman gets probation for getting boyfriend and his twin to help her steal from her family
(Left to right) Oh Jia Kai, Tiffany Tan and Oh Jia Cheng outside the State Courts on May 19, 2021. (Photos: TODAY/Raj Nadarajan)By Lydia Lam 15 Jul 2021 01:43PM (Updated: 15 Jul 2021 01:50PM )
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SINGAPORE: A woman who roped her boyfriend and his twin in to help steal S$57,000 worth of items from her own family was sentenced to probation on Thursday (Jul 15).
Tiffany Tan Hwee Shuan, 22, was given 15 months' probation and will have to perform 60 hours of community service. Her parents furnished a bond of S$5,000 to ensure her good behaviour.
The prosecution had pushed for jail, pointing out that the twins had received nine to 15 weeks' imprisonment, but the judge considered various factors including how the victims have forgiven Tan.
She had pleaded guilty to one charge of theft with common intention, with a second charge considered in sentencing.
At the time of the offence, she was dating co-accused Oh Jia Kai, 25. Jia Kai had a twin, Oh Jia Cheng.
The court heard that Tan had planned to steal a safe from her 29-year-old older brother when her family was out.
She planned to steal what court documents described as "piggy banks" in his room to make it look like there was a break-in, and later intended to steal S$34,000 in cash from her father's bag.
She told her boyfriend about her plan and asked for his help, which he agreed to. Her boyfriend's twin also agreed to help.
On Jul 10 last year, Tan rented a BMW car for her personal transport, before renting another Suzuki Swift vehicle intending to store the stolen goods inside.
On Jul 11, 2020, Tan briefed the twins about their roles and parked the Suzuki Swift in an open car park.
THE PLAN IN MOTION
That night, when her father and brother were out, Tan took her mother out for supper with her boyfriend so the house would be empty.
When they got to the BMW, Tan said she had left her phone behind, and pretended to head back home to get it. This was a ruse so she could carry out her plan.
Her boyfriend waited in the car with Tan's mother to make sure she did not go back up to the house. Meanwhile, Jia Cheng went to the unit with a black bag and met Tan.
Inside, Tan placed her brother's safe into an IKEA bag, before taking all the piggy banks in the house. She also took her father's envelope containing cash of S$34,000, a Louis Vuitton pouch and a box containing money.
She covered the items in the bag with pieces of white cloth and dragged it to the lift lobby, where Jia Cheng helped her to transport the items into the Suzuki Swift.
Tan then returned to the BMW and went for supper with her mother and boyfriend.
SHE PRETENDED TO HAVE LOST ITEMS TOO
When Tan's brother returned home, he realised that his valuables, including the safe that contained a Rolex watch and cash, were missing.
Tan's father discovered his cash was missing, while Tan pretended that she had lost S$3,000 as well to keep up the ruse.
Her brother called the police. Tan and Jia Kai later transferred the stolen items from the boot of the Suzuki to the BMW. Jia Kai called a fourth party, 25-year-old co-accused Vincent Koo Bing Jie, asking for help.
Koo was Jia Cheng's friend, and Jia Kai lied to him that Jia Cheng was in trouble and that the trio had taken items from Tan's house, but that Jia Cheng had not disguised himself properly.
Tan and Jia Cheng got Koo to help break the safe open, which he managed to do so. Inside were two gold rings, a Rolex watch, a red packet filled with cash, two sets of 12 Zodiac coins and a plastic bag containing old Singapore dollar notes.
After helping to place the valuables in a luggage bag, Koo told them he did not want to be involved anymore, and Jia Cheng got another friend to help store the luggage.
The thieves then agreed to store the luggage at Mandarin Self Storage, where they placed the stolen goods in a storage room.
HOW JIA KAI SPENT PART OF THE MONEY
Jia Kai later used S$14,000 to spend on Tan for her birthday on Jul 23. He gave her S$950 in cash, spent S$2,800 on a birthday party for her, and gave her a S$3,150 Louis Vuitton bag with S$7,100 in cash inside.
The police raided the self-storage facility on Jul 22, 2020. They found the IKEA bag and other valuables including S$6,895 in cash, the sets of Zodiac coins, foreign currencies, the Rolex watch and gold rings.
They recovered another S$20,000 in stolen cash that had been left at a friend's place for safekeeping and found the bag with S$7,100 cash.
The police arrested Tan, who was captured on police camera footage taking the lift at her home on the night of the incident.
They nabbed Jia Cheng, who was shown on footage taking the lift with a black bag and returning with a bulky IKEA bag and items in the black bag.
Initially, he denied his involvement and told the police he was not close to Tan nor his twin, while Tan and Jia Kai admitted to their offences.
PROSECUTOR PUSHED FOR JAIL
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu said the fact that the victims had forgiven Tan should not affect the sentence, citing an earlier judgment that said this was a private matter between the victim and the offender.
Lawyer Sara Ng said the facts were that the victims also happen to be Tan's family, and for community-based sentencing, especially probation, the support level of the family is the main factor.
District Judge Toh Yung Cheong got Tan's brother to confirm that he had forgiven his sister and would support her, and he confirmed this. He made similar requests of her parents.
He said he noted the prosecution's push for a jail term, citing how the twins were given jail, and that Tan as a mastermind should also be imprisoned.
However, he noted that Tan was three years younger than the twins at the time of the offence. He said he had carefully scrutinised the probation report and was of the view that the impact on the victims had been reduced.
Not only has Tan's brother forgiven her, he is also her bailor.
"In light of these exceptional factors, I'm of the view probation should be imposed," said Judge Toh.
For theft with common intention, Tan could have been jailed up to three years, fined, or both.
Jia Kai was given 15 weeks' jail in May, while his brother was jailed for nine weeks.
Source: CNA/ll(ac)
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