Last Updated on 30/07/2024 by wccexam Desk
An Indian-origin taxi driver in Singapore has been found guilty of four cases of theft. The allegation is that the Singaporean taxi driver used to steal the belongings of passengers sleeping in his cab. In this case, the court has sentenced him to one year and five months imprisonment. According to Singapore Police, the accused also stole the jewellery of his 70-year-old mother, which was worth 43,400 Singaporean dollars.
They stole watches worth S$200,000
According to PTI, citing a Straits Times report, the accused has been identified as 48-year-old Michael Raj. Due to financial constraints and problems, he stole three Rolex watches worth more than 200,000 Singaporean dollars from three passengers sleeping in his cab on different occasions and sold them.
Mother’s jewelry was stolen three years ago
According to the report, his crime spree began when he stole his mother’s jewellery between May and June 2021. Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Shi Yun told the court that this was not a case of a careless victim (the accused’s mother) leaving her valuables out in the open. The victim’s valuables were locked in a drawer of the cupboard and the key was kept in another drawer of the same cupboard.
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The loan was paid by mortgaging the jewellery
Subsequently, Michael pawned the valuables at several pawnshops without his mother’s consent and paid off his debt. On July 5, 2021, his mother discovered that several of her jewellery were missing. She confronted him about it two days later and then reported the matter to the police. Michael has since partially compensated her with around SGD 3,000.
Rolex watch was stolen from the passenger’s wrist
On September 2, 2022, Michael was driving his taxi and at around 5 am, he found a 33-year-old man drunk near Orchard Towers Shopping Mall. When he took the man to his place, the passenger was sleeping. After this, Michael immediately took off the Rolex watch worth SGD 45,000 from the man’s wrist and left from there.
Two passengers complained to the police
Then the following month, he stole another Rolex watch worth around SGD 67,300 from a 44-year-old male passenger who fell asleep in his taxi. When the two passengers found their valuables missing, they informed the police. The court heard that their watches were not recovered and Michael has not reimbursed the two victims.
The police recovered
On June 15, 2023, Michael Raj stole a third Rolex watch, worth SGD 88,000, from a 30-year-old man. The passenger had boarded the offender’s taxi before going to sleep. The watch has since been recovered and returned to the victim after he filed a police report.
The accused wants to live an honest life
On July 30, defense lawyer Wei Hong Shern urged the court to sentence Michael to one year and three months in prison. Wei further said that he sincerely wants to start a new life. He will serve his sentence and then devote himself to work and make up for lost time with his wife and daughter.