Public Prosecutor v Massandi Bin Mohid

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Lee-Khoo Poh Choo
• Judgment Date: 21 August 2014
• Neutral Citation: [2014] SGDC 335
• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: DAC 906168/2014 & others, Magistrate’s Appeal No. 9022/2014/01
• Published date: 25 August 2014
• Year: 2014
• Hearing Date: 23 July 2014,02 July 2014
• Plaintiff Counsel: DPP Mr Justin Seng
• Defendant Counsel: Mr K. Jayakumar Naidu of Jay Associates
• Citation: [2014] SGDC 335

District Judge Lee-Khoo Poh Choo:

I sentenced the Accused to undergo Corrective Training (“CT”) for 5 years and be caned 3 times. He has appealed against that order.

The Accused pleaded guilty to the following 5 charges- Theft under section 379 of the Penal Code, Cap 224 DAC 906168/2014 – that on 3.1.2014, at about 4.45 pm, at Block 341 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 #01-106, committed theft of a bag containing cash of $3,000.00 in the possession of Zhang Juan. DAC 906172/2014 – that on 1.1.2014, between 9.15 a.m. and 10.30 a.m., at the basketball court of Block 350 Ang Mo Kio Street 32, committed theft of – one grey Nokia handphone valued at $600.00, one wallet valued at $20.00, one student concession card valued at $10.00, and cash of $13.00 in the possession of Phoebe Lim En Qi (female, 10 years). DAC 906167/2014 – that on 5.12.2013 at 11.10 a.m., at the void deck of Block 351 Ang Mo Kio Street 32, committed theft of one handbag valued at $10.00, one Nokia mobile phone valued at $40.00, 2 Vietnamese passports, cash of $700.00 and one Apple iPad with protective cover valued at $950.00 in the possession of Nguyen Thu Hoa. Theft in Dwelling under section 380 of the Penal Code, Cap 224 DAC 900254/2014 – that on 9.12.2013, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., at I-Beauty Centre located at Block 704 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 #01-2547, committed theft of – one handbag valued at $10.00, one adult EZ-link card with stored value of $10.00, one work permit, one notebook, one Samsung handphone valued at RMB 3000, cash of $100 and one wallet in the possession of Sun Qi. Snatch theft under section 356 of the Penal Code, Cap 224 DAC 900253/2014 – that on 11.12.2013, at about 12.01 a.m. at level 6 of Block 245 Bishan Street 22 committed theft of one Prada handbag valued at $400.00 containing- one wallet valued at $200.00, cash of $200.00, cash of RMB 200, one pair of Prada sunglasses valued at $400.00, one Samsung handphone valued at $800.00, one LG handphone valued at $700.00, an umbrella valued at $20.00, one key and an assortment of bank cards and documents, which He Yue was carrying on her left arm, by snatching the said handbag forcefully from her arm.

The Accused also consented to 5 other charges of theft in DAC 906171/2014, DAC 906173/2014, DAC 906169/2014, DAC 906170/2014, and DAC 906166/2014 being taken into consideration for purpose of sentencing.

Statement of Facts

The Accused, aged 29 years, admitted to the Statement of Facts without qualification.

Facts Pertaining to DAC 906168/2014 (Theft under section 379)

The victim was Zhang Juan, female 42 years. On 3.1.2014 at about 4.45 p.m., she placed her bag containing cash of $3000.00 in the steel cabinet inside her stall in the market located at Block 341 Ang Mo Kio #01-16. She shut the steel door but did not lock it. About 5 minutes later, she saw the Accused open the steel cabinet and took her bag. The victim shouted at the Accused and chased him. She managed to catch with the Accused and recover her bag. The Accused was arrested by the police on the same day.

Facts pertaining to DAC 906172/2014 (Theft under section 379)

The victim was Phoebe Lim En Qi, female 10 years. On 1.1.2014 at about 9.15 a.m., she went to the basketball court at Block 350 Ang Mo Kio Street 32. She placed her Nokia handphone and wallet on a stone bench near the basketball court before proceeding to play with her friends.

On the same day, the Accused was walking around the housing estate when he saw a group of children playing at the basketball court. He observed that the children left their belongings on the stone bench. The Accused walked to the stone bench and took the victim’s handphone valued at $600.00 and wallet valued at $10.00 which contained cash of $13.00 and a student concession card with $10.00 value. He walked off with the items without anyone noticing. The items were not recovered.

DAC906167/2014 (Theft under section 379)

The victim was Nguyen Thu Hoa, female 38 years. On 5.12.2014, the victim placed her handbag on a stone table at the void deck of Block 351 Ang Mo Kio Street 32 then she walked away to call and chat with a friend on her handphone. At that time, the Accused was at the void deck. He noticed the victim had placed her handbag on the stone table and was talking on her phone. The Accused then took the handbag without the victim noticing. The handbag valued $10.00 contained a Nokia mobile phone valued at $40.00, 2 Vietnamese passports, cash of $700.00 and one Apple iPad with protective cover valued at $950.00. The items were not recovered.

DAC 900254/2014 (Theft in dwelling under section 380)

The victim was Sun Qi female 38 years. She was an employee at I-Beauty Centre located at Block 704 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8#01-2547 (“said shop”). On 9.12.2013, the Accused went to the said shop for a massage. He observed that the staff were busy. The Accused then walked around the shop and ventured into the kitchen. In the kitchen, he opened a small cabinet and removed the victim’s handbag. He also took the victim’s handphone valued at RMB3000 which was beside the cabinet. The Accused left the said shop with the victim’s handbag and handphone. In the handbag were one adult EZ-link card with stored value of $10.00, one work permit, one notebook, cash of $100.00 and one wallet. The items were not recovered.

DAC 900253/2014 (Snatch Theft under section 356)

The victim was He Yue, female 25 years. On 11.12.2013, at about 12.01 a.m., the victim was returning after attending a company function. She alighted from a taxi along Bishan Street 22 and walked towards Block 245. She then entered the lift at the void deck of Block 245 Bishan Street 22. As the lift doors were closing, the Accused entered the lift. The victim exited the lift at the 6th floor and proceeded to her unit. She carried her handbag on her left arm while she opened the padlock of the main gate.

Investigations revealed that the Accused had observed the victim walking alone and carrying her Prada handbag. He decided to trail the victim - entered the lift after her, exited the lift on the 6th floor and continued to follow the victim to her unit. Then, he ran towards the victim and snatched her handbag with force, causing her to fall. He then fled via the staircase. The victim gave chase but lost sight of the Accused. The Prada handbag valued at $400.00 contained a...