Serial handphone robbers caught
AsiaOne
Thursday, Feb 21, 2013
SINGAPORE - Four males and a female, aged between 17 to 26, who are believed to be involved in several cases of robberies have been arrested.
Since early February, the police received several reports of robberies where the victims were assaulted and robbed of their handphone and other belongings by a group of young persons. The group usually operated in threes or fours.
In all cases, the sole female suspect of the group approached the victim on the pretext of borrowing the handphone. Then, her male accomplices will appear and assault the victim and steal the handphone from the victim, sometimes taking other valuables as well.
The robbery cases took place in the vicinities of Kent Road, Jalan Besar, Hougang, Ang Mo Kio and Compassvale Drive.
One of the male suspects was arrested on Wednesday in the vicinity of Holland Close. The remaining four suspects were subsequently arrested in the vicinity of Lor 10 and Lor 34 Geylang, as well as in Eunos.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the five suspects are believed to be involved in at least five cases of robbery, with intention of causing hurt.
The suspects will be charged in court on March 22 for Robbery with Hurt. If convicted, they face a jail term of up to 20 years and up to 12 strokes of the cane.
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