Man steals S$19k from girlfriend

[chobolan]

Man steals S$19k from girlfriend
By Leong Wee Keat, TODAY | Posted: 17 December 2010 0855 hrs
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SINGAPORE: It was a particularly "devious" theft, a judge said on Thursday, in the case of a man who made multiple cash withdrawals of S$1,000 each time he pinched his girlfriend's ATM card from her wallet to gamble away at Resorts World Sentosa.

In all, 38-year-old Chua Yen Hui managed to steal S$19,000 from his girlfriend before he was found out.

He was on Thursday jailed for six months.

The court heard that Chua, who was unemployed, always placed the card back into its original slot without his girlfriend's knowledge.

The theft was discovered when his girlfriend of two years realised on August 15 that her card was missing.

The 32-year-old teacher checked her online banking account and found that S$19,000 had been withdrawn between June and August.

She confronted Chua, who admitted to the theft.

Pleading for leniency, Chua said he had acted out of "a moment of folly" and asked District Judge Jasbendar Kaur for a light sentence so that he could take care of his aged parents.

Chua also promised to return the stolen money.

But the judge noted that Chua had stolen on numerous occasions just to gamble. In response, Chua claimed he was looking for more money for his father's medical bills.

But the judge countered that the stolen money was never used for any medical expenses.

Chua could have been jailed up to three years and fined for each theft charge.

-TODAY/wk