C
Cao Pi
Guest
Jun 30, 2010
Man gets 9 years' detention
<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
AN UNEMPLOYED man who snatched the gold chains of elderly women and got away in stolen lorries was packed off to prison for nine years on Wednesday. Kuah Teck Hin, 56, was given preventive detention - a strict regime for hard-corers with no remission for good behaviour - and an eight-year driving ban.
Kuah, who faced 27 charges, had earlier admitted to 12 charges of snatch theft, theft of lorries, driving under disqualification and without insurance coverage in April this year. He had snatched the gold chains from five women in all in broad daylight at various locations. He also targeted unattended lorries with the keys still inside.
After stealing the gold chains, he would pawn them and spend the money on food, drinks and gambling. The court heard that he drove when he had been banned from doing so for five years from June 24 last year. Kuah, who has been convicted of various types of offences since 1970, could have been given up to 20 years' preventive detention.
