Robber who targeted the elderly jailed
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Joyce Lim
The Straits Times
Thursday, Jun 19, 2014
SINGAPORE - A robber who targeted elderly victims - and even threatened one with a penknife - was jailed for four years yesterday.
Piram Kumar Stanley Shadrak, 59, spotted a 78-year-old woman wearing a jade pendant on a gold chain, and followed her into a lift near Tiong Bahru Shopping Centre.
When the door opened on the second floor, he took out an unopened penknife and pulled the chain from her neck, before fleeing on a bus and pawning it for $600 - of which $200 he spent on heroin, the court heard.
Piram pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, robbery and drug offences yesterday while three more charges - of possession of an offensive instrument, theft and robbery - were taken into consideration.
The total amount of items involved was about $2,250, of which $800 was recovered.
Investigations also revealed that on Jan 10 this year, Piram had snatched a gold chain from an 85-year-old woman inside a lift at Block 441 Fajar Road in Bukit Panjang. The next day, he pawned it for $800 at a shop in Toa Payoh Central and spent the cash on beer and daily expenses.
He was arrested five days later at Fajar Shopping Centre on suspicion of having consumed drugs and committed snatch theft.
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