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www.straitstimes.com
SINGAPORE – At a bakery in Orchard Road, Ng Kim Swee, 75, noticed a woman whose handbag was unzipped.
Using one hand to pick up a packet of bread in order not to arouse suspicion, she reached into the bag with her other hand and pulled out a wallet.
She then placed the bread back down and left the store – St. Leaven bakery in Takashimaya Shopping Centre – immediately.
The victim, a 65-year-old female Indonesian tourist, had cash of $2,000 and three million rupiah (S$258) in the wallet.
The offence took place on Jan 31, 2023. The victim’s son lodged a police report the next day.
This was among multiple crimes committed by Ng, who was caught for the theft, but went on to reoffend while out on bail – twice.
On Wednesday, the Malaysian was sentenced to four years’ jail, with the prosecution calling her a serial thief.
She pleaded guilty to three charges of theft, while two similar charges were taken into consideration during her sentencing.
For each charge of theft, Ng could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin said her modus operandi was to find crowded stores within shopping malls and search for a target whose handbag was open.
Ng would check for observers and security cameras, and position herself away from the camera’s line of sight.
She would then pretend to browse store items next to the victim, while taking the victim’s wallet from her handbag.
Days earlier, on Jan 22, 2023, Ng was at the Louis Vuitton outlet in Marina Bay Sands at about 3pm when she spotted a handbag that had been placed on a stool. The owner was browsing items on display and talking to an acquaintance.
Investigations revealed that Ng paced back and forth for three minutes in order to find an opportune time to steal items from the handbag without onlookers.
She tried to steal the victim’s wallet from the unclasped handbag, but aborted this attempt as she noticed people approaching her.
When they left, she stepped in front of the handbag, pretended to browse the items in the display cabinet, and used her right hand to reach behind her own back, retrieving the victim’s wallet from her handbag.
The Gucci purse was valued at about $1,500 and contained two credit cards, among other items. The 44-year-old victim made a police report later that day.
Ng was charged on Feb 8, 2023, for both the offences and was released on bail.
A week later, she reoffended.
At the ABC Bargain Store in Bugis Village, she targeted a 48-year-old South Korean tourist whose handbag was unzipped.
While using one hand to browse store items in order not to arouse suspicion, she reached into the victim’s bag with her other hand and pulled out her wallet.
After realising that the wallet itself was of little value, Ng discarded it in a different aisle of the store after taking the cash in it, and left.
Worker who helped minimart boss use CCTV cameras allegedly caught stealing by same security system
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The victim’s tour guide called the police later that day.
Ng was charged for this offence on April 26, 2023, and released on bail again.
She stole again four days later.
DPP Bin said over the course of investigations, nine statements were recorded from Ng in which she lied and claimed that she had never stolen anything, even after being shown closed-circuit television footage of her committing the offences.
None of the stolen items were recovered by the police, and Ng has not made restitution to any of the victims.
Ng was previously convicted of theft and housebreaking offences in Malaysia on seven occasions.
The first was on Oct 21, 1985, and the most recent was on Dec 23, 2019.
She was jailed on all the occasions, except for one where she received a fine.
Four years’ jail for 75-year-old ‘serial thief’ who continued stealing while out on bail
SINGAPORE – At a bakery in Orchard Road, Ng Kim Swee, 75, noticed a woman whose handbag was unzipped.
Using one hand to pick up a packet of bread in order not to arouse suspicion, she reached into the bag with her other hand and pulled out a wallet.
She then placed the bread back down and left the store – St. Leaven bakery in Takashimaya Shopping Centre – immediately.
The victim, a 65-year-old female Indonesian tourist, had cash of $2,000 and three million rupiah (S$258) in the wallet.
The offence took place on Jan 31, 2023. The victim’s son lodged a police report the next day.
This was among multiple crimes committed by Ng, who was caught for the theft, but went on to reoffend while out on bail – twice.
On Wednesday, the Malaysian was sentenced to four years’ jail, with the prosecution calling her a serial thief.
She pleaded guilty to three charges of theft, while two similar charges were taken into consideration during her sentencing.
For each charge of theft, Ng could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin said her modus operandi was to find crowded stores within shopping malls and search for a target whose handbag was open.
Ng would check for observers and security cameras, and position herself away from the camera’s line of sight.
She would then pretend to browse store items next to the victim, while taking the victim’s wallet from her handbag.
Days earlier, on Jan 22, 2023, Ng was at the Louis Vuitton outlet in Marina Bay Sands at about 3pm when she spotted a handbag that had been placed on a stool. The owner was browsing items on display and talking to an acquaintance.
Investigations revealed that Ng paced back and forth for three minutes in order to find an opportune time to steal items from the handbag without onlookers.
She tried to steal the victim’s wallet from the unclasped handbag, but aborted this attempt as she noticed people approaching her.
When they left, she stepped in front of the handbag, pretended to browse the items in the display cabinet, and used her right hand to reach behind her own back, retrieving the victim’s wallet from her handbag.
The Gucci purse was valued at about $1,500 and contained two credit cards, among other items. The 44-year-old victim made a police report later that day.
Ng was charged on Feb 8, 2023, for both the offences and was released on bail.
A week later, she reoffended.
At the ABC Bargain Store in Bugis Village, she targeted a 48-year-old South Korean tourist whose handbag was unzipped.
While using one hand to browse store items in order not to arouse suspicion, she reached into the victim’s bag with her other hand and pulled out her wallet.
After realising that the wallet itself was of little value, Ng discarded it in a different aisle of the store after taking the cash in it, and left.
Worker who helped minimart boss use CCTV cameras allegedly caught stealing by same security system
Polling Day housebreaking accused taken back to crime scene, may face more charges
The victim’s tour guide called the police later that day.
Ng was charged for this offence on April 26, 2023, and released on bail again.
She stole again four days later.
DPP Bin said over the course of investigations, nine statements were recorded from Ng in which she lied and claimed that she had never stolen anything, even after being shown closed-circuit television footage of her committing the offences.
None of the stolen items were recovered by the police, and Ng has not made restitution to any of the victims.
Ng was previously convicted of theft and housebreaking offences in Malaysia on seven occasions.
The first was on Oct 21, 1985, and the most recent was on Dec 23, 2019.
She was jailed on all the occasions, except for one where she received a fine.
