22/01/2015

Petty thefts and crime

Update 28 Aug 2017: An Average 4 Molest Incidents Reported Every Day according to Latest Crime Stats
redwire-singapore-woman-molest-67

Latest crime statistics released by the police reveal that 717 incidents of outrage of modesty took place between Jan and Jun this year – or, 4 incidents per day on average.

The number is a 9.5 percent increase from the same time last year, where 655 incidents were reported. Police have urged the public to be vigilant and report incidents as soon as possible.

Molest aside, 349 cases of internet love scams in the first half of this year saw victims losing S$22.1 million in total to scammers.

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Molesters 'think they can get away in crowds'

Molestation cases that take place at entertainment nightspots could have happened as perpetrators believed they would not get caught in a crowded, public environment, said Ms Anisha Joseph, manager of the Association of Women for Action & Research's Sexual Assault Care Centre.

According to police statistics released yesterday, there were 717 outrage of modesty cases in the 1st half of this year, up from 655 in the same period last year. In particular, cases at entertainment nightspots increased from 44 to 52 over this period, while cases on public transport remained high, at around 70 cases.

Clinical psychologist Jeanie Chu of the Resilienz Clinic said incidents may take place at such locations due to accessibility to potential victims, & perpetrators' ease of escape. Ms Anisha added that perpetrators may also be friends or acquaintances who exploit the situation when one is too intoxicated to consent at a nightspot, for example.

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Jail for man who insulted flatmate's modesty

3 days after he moved into a flat, a driver lifted the blanket of his housemate who was sleeping and took a photo of her topless.

Teng Ching Yuan, 31, was caught red-handed when he tried to do it again 3 days later. Yesterday, he was jailed for 12 weeks after pleading guilty to 5 charges: 2 of insulting a woman's modesty, and 1 each of criminal trespass, use of criminal force and possession of obscene films.

A District Court heard that Teng, a Malaysian, rented a room in a Pasir Ris flat. He stayed there with the unit's owners, a married couple, and a 30-yr-old female tenant. The latter had a habit of sleeping unclothed and would usually lock her room door, the court heard.

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Taxi driver, 66, jailed 2 weeks for insulting modesty of teenage passenger

A 66-yr-old cabby repeatedly told his 19-yr-old passenger that he wanted to lick her private parts during a 20-minute taxi ride, a court heard on Thursday (Sep 15).

Ong Guan Seow persisted in making lewd and suggestive comments to the victim, even while driving her to a neighbourhood police centre (NPC), as directed by the victim.

The victim had been so traumatised that both a friend and her father heard her trembling voice and she sounded fearful when she called them close to midnight on Feb 7, 2015, while she was still in the taxi.

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Elderly man gets jail for molesting girl on bus

A 77-yr-old security guard who repeatedly molested a 14-yr-old girl on a bus was jailed for 5 weeks yesterday.

Samlawi Haji Sirat pleaded guilty to touching the girl's upper thigh on an SBSTransit bus on Feb 6 last year.

The court heard that the Secondary 3 student boarded service No. 21 in Balestier Road at about 1.30pm that day. The bus was heading towards Pasir Ris interchange.

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Woman raped thrice in public in 20 minutes

After leaving a bar in Robertson Quay, where he had been drinking with friends, a jobless man saw a woman walking alone along Martin Road at 3am.

What transpired in the next 20 minutes was a horrific episode of sexual violence as he raped her thrice at three locations in the area, and forced her to give him oral sex.

Even when his victim pleaded with him and repeatedly told him that she was having her period, he ignored her and continued violating her.

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Doctor who drugged, molested doctor jailed

A reknown aesthetic doctor, who was convicted last month of molesting a male doctor & administering stupefying drugs on the 33-yr-old patient to commit the offence, was sentenced to 42 months' jail yesterday.

Tan Kok Leong, 50, was convicted after an 18-day trial of twice administering Dormicum and Rosiden on the Malaysian doctor in the course of a liposuction procedure at Oasia Hotel in Sinaran Drive, on Jul 5 & 6 in 2013, and using criminal force to outrage his modesty on those 2 days.

Bail of $40,000 was allowed pending Tan's appeal against conviction and sentence.

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Bangladeshi jailed 5 months for threat to send ex-lover's sex videos to family and friends

A Bangladeshi national filmed himself having sex with a married Singaporean woman, then threatened to send the explicit video clip to her friends and family.

On Tuesday (May 24), the 42-year-old man was sentenced to five months' jail after admitting to threatening the woman, aged 38, between March 27 and April 4 this year. He was initially scheduled to go for trial but changed his mind and pleaded guilty on Monday (May 23). Neither he nor the complainant can be named due to a gag order.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan David Lim said the pair were in an intermittent relationship from around 2007 to 2013. They broke up in 2014 and he returned to Bangladesh.

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Nurse placed on reporting order for grocery theft

Stressed by work and personal issues, a nurse from a well-to-do family stole $13.22 in groceries from a supermarket.

Qu Kai, 33, was yesterday placed on a six-month day reporting order, without tagging, for theft on July 31. This means she has to report regularly to a centre run by the Singapore Prison Service for supervision and counselling.

Qu, a nurse for more than 10 years, was also ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.

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Teenage bird thief's wings clipped

A teenager who broke into a pet shop and stole 10 birds was placed on 18 months' probation yesterday.

Tan Quan Jin, 18, took the birds plus equipment, worth $6,750 in all, after using a wire cutter to enter Nan Seng Bird Shop Trading in Tanjong Katong Road on Oct 13, 2013. His alleged accomplice, 24-year-old Eric Leong Teck Wai, helped to load the birds, which were in their cages, into a vehicle he had driven. They shared the loot and left the area, but Tan was traced later that month and his home was raided.

Only seven of the birds and 13 cages, worth $4,600, were recovered from Tan. Yesterday, Tan was also ordered to perform 130 hours of community service and remain at home between 10pm and 6am. His parents have signed a $5,000 bond to ensure his good behaviour.

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Two years' probation for teenager who extorted money

A teenarger who extorted money from a classmate in September 2013 was placed on two years' probation yesterday.

Noor Iqmal Noor Indra, 18, confronted 17-year-old Khairul Irfan Abdul Halim after finding out he had been teasing a female schoolmate.

He threatened to tell the girl's elder brother, who he claimed would assault Khairul Irfan.

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35-year-old nabbed for stealing bags from churches

A 35-year-old man was nabbed yesterday (Jan 13) for allegedly stealing bags from some churches. Cash amounting to S$1619 and the clothes found on him upon the arrest were believed to be stolen items.

On Jan 3, a bag from a church on West Coast Road was stolen. Following that, police also received similar reports of bag thefts from churches in the Pasir Panjang and Queenstown area.

After reviewing CCTV footage, the suspect was identified and arrested along Geylang Lorong 6 yesterday.

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Fraud alleged at Catholic centre

The Catholic Spirituality Centre (CSC) has made a police report against one of its senior members for alleged fraud.

The member, who works at the CSC, has been suspended.

A CSC spokesman said in a statement that the centre's spiritual director, listed on the Catholic Directory as Reverend Father Andrew Wong, made the police report last Friday because there was "reason to believe that a case of fraud has been committed".

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Man arrested for suspected involvement in cheating cases

A 36-year-old man was arrested today (Jan 15) for suspected involvement in at least four cases of cheating island-wide.

The police received reports of victims who were cheated of money paid to the man as fees to secure job offers this month.

In all cases, the suspect posed as a freelance agent and offered them various job opportunities with attractive salaries to work in Singapore.

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'Underpaid' store assistant stole from company

A store assistant, who was unhappy because he believed he was underpaid, broke into the company premises and stole about $11,800.

Yesterday, Mohammad Taufik Mustafa, 44, was jailed for 26 months after admitting to housebreaking and theft of the cash, mainly in Singapore dollars but also in ringgit and yuan, as well as a few cheque books and two Internet bank tokens.

He committed the offence at Premier Carpet at Tai Lee Industrial Building in Jalan Pemimpin, off Marymount Road, at about 9.30pm on May 17 last year.

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Cost of fraud rising in financial services

More large transactions and more funds washing about in the financial services sector may have contributed to a significant jump in the cost of fraud incidents in recent years, experts say.

The cost of these incidents has increased by a whopping 238 per cent to S$22 million this year from S$6.5 million in 2011, according to the KPMG Singapore Fraud 2014 Survey released yesterday.

The survey, done for the first time in conjunction with the Singapore Management University, found that 58 per cent of fraud incidents this year were perpetrated by employees, up from 47 per cent in 2011, and the average cost of such incidents per employee was S$457,000.

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Cleaner secretly filmed stepdaughter using the toilet

Aroused after watching online video clips recorded by hidden cameras in toilets, a cleaner bought a pinhole camera at Sim Lim Square and hid it in various household items.

For a month, he hid the camera in a modified pole, broomstick and plunger, and filmed his stepdaughter using the toilet.

The 63-year-old man would watch the recordings on his laptop before deleting them.

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Hawker jailed for knife threat

After arguing with his girlfriend for nearly three hours, Lee Boon Seng charged at her with a kitchen knife, pushed her against a wall and placed the weapon on her neck.

In the incident on Sept 14 last year. the 54-year-old hawker also tried to strangle Ms Tham Feng Jian, 55, with his hands, punched her in the head, and smashed her head against the wall.

Yesterday, Lee, who was drunk at the time, was given four weeks' jail after pleading guilty to intimidating Ms Tham with a knife. Another charge, of hurting her, was taken into consideration.

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Four charged with cheating ministry and stat boards

Four people were yesterday charged with cheating a ministry and three statutory boards by inflating the expenditure on Hari Raya decorative lights.

Three of the four charged were former members of the Malay-Muslim community organisation Majlis Pusat — its former secretary-general Saharudin Kassim, Gazaly Malek and Abdul Ghani Tahir. Local businessman Salleh Sam was the fourth to be charged.


They face between five and 11 charges of abetting to cheat the then Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Singapore Tourism Board, National Population and Talent Division and the Tote Board by inflating the expenses in amounts ranging from S$130,768 to S$351,241 in 2011 and 2012.

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Woman wanted for loanshark harrassment

The police are looking for the female subject shown in the photos to assist with investigations into a case of loanshark harassment reported at Sembawang Close on Jan 1, 2015

The woman appears to be in her twenties with fair complexion. She is of medium build, and around 1.6 metres tall.

She was last seen wearing a black top, blue denim shorts and a pair of black slippers. She was also wearing a pair of spectacles with a black and white frame.

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Security guard gets 2 months' jail for cheating couple of $1,050 over bogus intimate video

Taking advantage of a young couple he caught getting intimate on a staircase landing, a condominium security guard lied that they had been caught on camera and offered to destroy his "recording device" in return for money.

Nagindran Dharmiah, 32, took $1,000 in "compensation" from the girl but she reported him to the police after he asked for another $850 the next day.

There was actually no camera installed there. The device Nagindran had shown them was his clocking device, meant for recording his progress at work.

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Clinic worker jailed for stealing medicine to help estranged hubby

Under pressure from her estranged husband for money, a clinic employee stole almost 500 litres of codeine-based cough syrup for him to resell illegally.

Chen Ruzhen handed over a total of 482.6 litres of Dhasedyl syrup to Yam Bin Kwee on 12 occasions in 2011 and 2012, receiving between $400 and $600 in return each time.

The 40-year-old was jailed for 16 weeks yesterday for dishonestly misappropriating the syrup, worth $4,593.93, and selling it to Yam to "help him in his business".

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Suspected cough medicine thief arrested for clinic break-ins

Police have arrested a 35-year-old male suspect believed to have broken into 3 clinics along Bedok South Road, Marine Terrace and Bedok North Street 1.

According to a police press release, three cases of break-ins were reported between Aug 23 and 29.

The suspect is believed to have stolen more than 100 bottles of cough mixture together with other medication like panadols, sleeping pills, pain killers and cash amounting to about S$2,254.

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Men nabbed for stealing cough syrup 

Police have arrested two brothers, aged 21 and 35, who are believed to have broken into a clinic and stolen a large amount of cough syrup and cash.

The police said they were alerted on Monday morning to a break-in at a clinic in Ghim Moh Road. Cough mixture and cash were stolen from the clinic.

Officers detained one of the brothers in Bukit Panjang on Wednesday, and found bottles of the clinic's cough syrup and up to $5,000 in his possession, they said yesterday.

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MAN ARRESTED FOR THEFT OF MILK POWDER

Police have arrested a 33-year-old man suspected to be involved in a series of theft of milk powder from supermarkets in vicinity of Redhill and Telok Blangah.

The male suspect is believed to have committed the offences between September and November 2014. Officers from Clementi Police Division conducted intensive follow up enquires and investigations and eventually established the identity of the male suspect. Through the CCTV footages the male suspect is believed to be involved in similar cases.


The suspect will be charged in Court on 29 November 2014 for Theft in Dwelling, which is punishable under Section 380 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. The offence carries a maximum jail term of seven years' imprisonment, or fine, or both.

related:
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Youth Arrested For Snatch Theft
Duo Arrested For Theft Of Motorcycle
Housebreaker Nabbed With Aid Of Police Cameras
Man Arrested For Criminal Breach Of Trust
11 Motorists Arrested For Drink-Driving
Scam Involving "Changi Airport" Or "Singapore Airlines" Contest
Man Arrested For Serial Theft In Dwelling Cases
Two Men Arrested For Promoting And Organising Illegal Racing
Three Men Arrested For Series Of Theft From Vehicles
Trio Arrested For Serial Housebreaking
Five Suspects Nabbed For Robbery
Man Arrested For Cheating By Personation Within 24 Hours


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Couple stole milk powder to sell online
Siti Husnizah and her husband, Iskandar Samad were both jailed after admitting to stealing $2,554.30 worth of milk products

Emboldened by their success at stealing milk powder for their children, a couple decided to do it for profit and offered milk at a discount online.

When an order came in for 32 tins of powder, they filled it over two months by shoplifting from supermarkets.

Yesterday, the wife, Siti Husnizah Hussain, 36, was sentenced to two months in jail after admitting to stealing $2,554.30 worth of milk products between January and April. She pleaded guilty to three charges, with a further five taken into consideration.

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Man steals more than $1,000 worth of milk powder

In less than an hour, he and an alleged accomplice managed to steal 14 tins of milk powder worth $1,049.85 from a supermarket.

Alvin Lim Jun Hong, 28, was given a four-month reporting order (DRO) yesterday after pleading guilty to one count of theft. He also has to perform 200 hours of community service within a year.

Those given DROs have to report to a centre run by the Singapore Prison Service for supervision and counselling.

related: Milk powder thief caught

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Woman broke mum's nose over Korean drama

Upset that her mother wanted to cancel a subscription to her Korean drama channel, a 25-year-old woman with behavioural issues broke her nose.

Yesterday, Narelle Olivia Phoon Rujun, who is unemployed, was placed on nine months' supervised probation after pleading guilty to the Oct 5 assault.

She was also ordered yesterday to remain indoors between 8pm and 6am.

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Middle-aged man hurt in Joo Chiat pub brawl
Pieces of tissue paper with blood stains were scattered outside the bar in Joo Chiat Road

A man was hurt in a brawl that allegedly started among four men over a woman at a pub in Joo Chiat Road on Friday night.

The middle-aged man was apparently hit by a beer bottle, reported Chinese evening daily, Lianhe Wanbao. It is believed that he was drunk and had picked a fight with another man at the S-Box and Pub.

When The New Paper on Sunday called a mobile number listed for the bar, a man said in Mandarin that he "was not in town" and asked that we call another number.

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Dad lied about address in P1 registration
The man pleaded guilty yesterday to giving false information to the school's principal on July 30, 2013

The 35-year-old man indicated that he lived at an address that was within 1km to 2km of the school when registering his daughter under Phase 2C of the Primary 1 registration exercise in 2013.

His identity card also showed this address but the man, who cannot be named to protect his daughter's identity, actually lived in Balestier Road, which fell outside that radius.

The property at the address he provided belonged to his uncle's sister, and had been rented out.

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Teen put on probation for helping to run 2 brothels
Photo of the red light district in Geylang

A teenager who helped to run two brothels but was never paid for doing so was placed on probation yesterday.

Jaryl Tan Wencong, 19, committed 11 offences of living off prostitution earnings and helping to manage two operations in Geylang and a flat in District 9.

He admitted two charges: helping to run the brothel in Chateau Eliza in Mount Elizabeth; and meeting a Thai woman at Changi Airport, knowing she was procured for prostitution here.

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Man emulates cop for prostitute contact details

A Singapore man was jailed four months on Wednesday for impersonating a police officer in a bid to get contact details of prostitutes.

Yusri Abdul Wahab conducted checks on sex workers in a district in Singapore on May 7 last year.


He wanted to get the contact details of the sex workers so that he would hopefully be able to call back for cheap sex at a later date, local daily the Straits Times reported.

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Man, 59, arrested for allegedly molesting woman, 23, on bus

A 59-year-old suspect has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 23-year-old female on a public bus, said the police in a statement on Wedneday.

At about 3.48pm on Nov 21, the female victim reported to the police that she was molested by a man when they were both travelling in a bus towards Ang Mo Kio bus interchange.

Following the report, police officers conducted extensive ground enquiries and viewed CCTV footages, which allowed them to identify the suspect. The suspect was subsequently arrested on Jan 6.

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Odd job labourer jailed for two weeks for molesting woman on bus

An odd job labourer who molested a woman on a bus while pretending to be asleep was jailed for two weeks on Monday.

Ang Ah Meng, 28, admitted to using his right hand to brush the left outer thigh of a 24-year-old sales and marketing assistant on Service No 854 on Sept 4 last year.

A Community Court heard that Ang and the victim were standing on the bus heading towards Yishun bus interchange that morning.

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Couple steal neighbours' Christmas decorations for their own house

Police said Jeremy Lewallen, 18, and Carrie Carley, 42, from Colorado Springs, stole from 13 households and their undoing was the discovery of a 3m-high inflatable figure in their front yard. It had been pinched from a neighbour.

Walter Sandoval chanced upon his Dr Seuss figure, which had his name on it, in front of the couple's home while driving in the neighbourhood, New York Daily News reported.

He called the police and when officers turned up at the couple's house, they found about 30 Christmas decorations randomly placed on the lawn.

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Shoplifters 'young and work in groups'
Mr Muhammad Waseem Ahmed's shopkeeper instincts kicked in

The young couple seemed keen on his products at first, but then they suddenly grew quiet.

Suspecting something was amiss, he kept an eye on the woman, even as her male companion tried to lead him towards a blind spot in his perfume store.

He was right. He suspected she had stolen a bottle of perfume and confronted her.

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57-year-old man arrested for stealing 9 bicycles
Police have arrested a 57-year-old man for stealing bicycles and drug offences. He was sentenced to five years corrective training in March 2014

Between October and November 2013, the accused stole a total of nine bicycles from Botanic Gardens MRT Station and private housing estates along Cluny Park Road, Coronation Road, Binjai Park and Dunearn Road.

Most of the stolen bicycles cost more than $600, the police said in a media statement.

The accused would use a metal cutter to cut the cable locks used to secure the bicycles. He would then ride off on the stolen bicycle and sell it on the same day.

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More shoplifters caught in Orchard Road

In the first three months of this year, 75 shoplifters were caught after Orchard Road retailers worked with police to improve security.

This is more than the 63 arrested in the same period a year ago. The shoplifters, most of whom were Singaporean and whose ages ranged from 13 to 73, stole items valued at a total of about $11,000.

These ranged from designer handbags and clothing to groceries.

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Police cameras helped solve more than 300 crime cases
CCTV cameras will be installed at all HDB blocks by the end of next year. -- MY PAPER FILE PHOTO

OUR experience with police cameras has been positive ("Review funding for CCTV cameras" by Mr Ravi Philemon).

Since May 2012, when the cameras were first installed, more than 300 crime cases have been solved using the video footage.

Residents have welcomed the installation of police cameras and given positive feedback that it has improved their sense of safety and security.

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More foreigners nabbed for loan-shark activities
THE number of foreigners nabbed for involvement in activities related to unlicensed moneylending, such as harassment, spiked last year

Of those arrested, fewer than half were from Taiwan and Vietnam, while the rest were from other countries in South-east Asia, said Assistant Commissioner (AC) Ng Guat Ting, the Singapore Police Force's director of public affairs.

A total of 50 foreigners were arrested last year for being involved in loan-shark activities, compared to 22 in 2009.

Speaking at the annual crime brief held at the police headquarters in New Phoenix Park yesterday, AC Ng added that in those cases, the offenders had arrived in Singapore on social-visit passes.

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Crime at casinos

The gambling addict begs, borrows and steals to feed his addiction. This is becoming evidently clear as the number of casino related crimes increase over time.

The two casinos in Singapore - Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands - have barely opened for six months and casino related crimes have occurred almost every other month.

Such crimes might just be a taste of things to come. AsiaOne tracks the cases so far:

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Tackling crime from Sentosa to Jurong Island

More electronic gadgets are being stolen in schools and more people are losing their belongings from the beaches of Sentosa.


These are areas of concern for Clementi Police Division and they're not the only ones.


Because of the unique make-up of the areas it has to police, its officers have to deal with a wide range of problems from petty crime to protecting key installations, like Jurong Island, from terrorism.


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Teen gets probation for helping to manage brothel and receiving prostitute
A 19-year-old was placed on 18 months' probation on Monday for vice-related offences. -- ST GRAPHIC

A 19-year-old was placed on 18 months' probation on Monday for vice-related offences.

Daryl Tan Wencong is the second of three persons to be dealt with.

He pleaded guilty last month to helping to manage a brothel at a unit in Chateau Eliza at Mount Elizabeth and receiving a 30-year-old Thai prostitute at Changi Airport for prostitution.

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5 boys nabbed for alleged robbery

Five boys between 11 and 16 years old have been arrested for allegedly robbing several young victims.

They were picked up at Orchard Link within eight hours of a 14-year-old student reporting to the cops that he was assaulted and robbed by a group of boys at 7:48am on Tuesday.

With the description of the suspects provided by the victim and images retrieved from police cameras, officers were able to locate and arrest the boys, said the police yesterday.

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Children Handcuffed And Arrested By Police
Dangerous Criminals In Singapore

Ms Ang, a volunteer for children's development needs, commented on her photo of 3 boys, aged 9 to 12 years old, being arrested for theft on a Saturday morning (Dec 27): “Pains my heart that the police (would) handcuff young kids.”


Amolat Singh, a criminal lawyer, had this to add: “We don't see such things happening very often in Singapore, so when I heard and saw this photo, naturally it was quite shocking.”


What really takes the cake is this dumb statement from the highly esteemed Singapore Police Force (SPF): “The subjects were handcuffed for the safety of them and others as they had attempted to escape before police’s arrival.”



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