K
Kanetsugu Naoe
Guest
Apr 28, 2011
Teen on probation for stealing wine worth $164,000
By Khushwant Singh
THREE teenagers broke into the warehouse of wine and spirits distributor Hock Tong Bee at Lorong 17 Geylang in July 2010, and stole eight bottles of expensive wine worth $164,058.
The loot comprised six bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982 and two bottles of Chateau Petrus 2000.
On Thursday, a district court ordered Leonard Lim Wei Jye, 18, to serve 11/2 years of probation for his role in the burglary. He had pleaded guilty in March.
Then, the district court heard Lim and a friend, Lai Kwok Fang, 17, who was working at Cornerstone Wines - a unit of the distributor - climbed over the fence at the rear of the warehouse at 8pm on July 30, 2010. Another accomplice Nicklaus Yeo Jun Howe, 17, acted as the lookout.
Lai sold the eight stolen bottles to wine dealer Koh Keng Onn, 49, for $8,000, and gave $2,000 to Lim and $1,000 to Yeo.
They were caught when Lim and Lai broke into the warehouse again on Aug 3 2010, and stole 24 bottles of Mouton Rothschild worth a total of $57,144.
This charge was taken into consideration by the court when passing sentence. Lai is presently serving probation while Yeo has been issued a police warning.
