Serial offender jailed for 15 months for stealing from wet markets and hawker centres
Published on Dec 06, 2013
By Elena Chong
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/g-9GJ8Sgq6Q?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480"></iframe>
An unemployed man who stole nearly $2,000 from various food centres and market stalls all over the island was jailed for 15 months on Friday.
Yeo Mong Seng, 62, had pleaded guilty to 10 charges of theft involving amounts between $5 and over $400 from food centres and wet markets in Ang Mo Kio, Hougang, Telok Blangah, Circuit Road and Clementi. The offences were committed between July and October this year.
A district court heard that Yeo stole to sustain his living expenses after his release from prison in April this year. He would take public transport to various locations to study the layout of different wet markets and hawker centres before stealing from these places. Yeo would exchange the coins he stole for notes at a coffeeshop in Geylang. He would spend the money on food, beer, cigarettes, prostitutes and transport. His crime spree ended when police arrested him on Oct 31.
District Judge Low Wee Ping, who took 30 other charges including four house-breaking offences into consideration, said Yeo appeared to be a serial offender, targeting food centres and market stalls although the amounts he stole were relatively small.
Get the full story from The Straits Times.
