Oct 29, 2010
Engineer stole wires from NUS
By Elena Chong
A MALAYSIAN engineer was jailed for five months on Friday for breaking into the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Engineering and stealing earth cable wires earlier. Wu Wai Keong, 28, pleaded guilty to housebreaking with two Bangladeshi nationals at Engineering Drive 3 in Kent Ridge on July 18, and house trespass on March 25 to steal cables.
He was acting as a look-out outside the switch room on July 18 when a security officer approached him. He fled. She gave chase but lost him along the main road. When the security officer went back to the switch room, she saw Bilat, 25, a Bangladeshi, coming out carrying a black haversack. He fled. So did another Bangladeshi, Sohaq, 26. Both have been dealt with.
The officer found several earth cables inside the room had been cut. The court heard that earlier on March 25, Wu and the two co-accused had stolen $30,060 worth of cables after the two foreigners had forced open the switch room door to get in. After that, Wu dropped them at Desker Road while he sold the cable wires to a shop nearby for about $1,200. Three other theft charges were taken into consideration. Wu could have been jailed for up to two years for housebreaking. For house trespass, he could have been jailed for up to seven years.
