Mastermind in S$119,000 robbery of Ang Mo Kio jewellery shop gets jail and caning
This still CCTV image shows the main robbery suspect. (Image: Singapore Police Force)
SINGAPORE: The mastermind behind a S$119,000 daylight robbery of a jewellery shop in Ang Mo Kio was sentenced on Thursday (Nov 12) to three years and three months' jail and six strokes of the cane.
M Jegatheesh, 28, admitted to plotting the scheme with two other men, choosing to target the shop at Block 574, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 as it looked old and its owners were elderly.
The court heard that Jegatheesh was a Gojek driver at the time of the offence. His co-accused, Veeramani Subran Das, was a Grab driver then, while the third accused, 32-year-old Sharavindran Suppiah, was unemployed.
Jegatheesh planned to use his Honda Civic in the scheme along with a Toyota Vellfire belonging to Veeramani.
On Aug 13, 2019, the three men met in Geylang, where Jegatheesh told the rest of his plan to rob the shop the next day.
He targeted the place as it looked old and he thought it would not have any alarms installed. He also thought that the elderly owners would not be able to put up resistance.
Veeramani agreed to play the role of the getaway driver and to transport the gold to Sharavindran, who was asked to help sell it.
At about 2.40pm on Aug 14, Veeramani drove the Toyota to the car park at Block 521, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, before Jegatheesh parked his car next to him.
Veeramani then took over the wheel of the Honda, while Jegatheesh moved to the back seat and put on clothes including a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, gloves and a helmet.
When Jegatheesh entered Hock Cheong Jade & Jewellery shop at 4.07pm, the co-owners, aged 70 and 75, were there.
Jegatheesh tried to pull down the roller shutter at the entrance, before shouting "Don't move! Don't talk!" and jumping over the jewellery display counter.
The two co-owners pressed hidden alarm buttons to notify an external security company. They did not confront Jegatheesh as they feared for their safety.
Jegatheesh swept the jewellery, including gold necklaces, bracelets and pendants, into a duffel bag he brought with him.
One of the co-owners asked Jegatheesh not to take so much jewellery, as he had a small shop, and shouted "tolong tolong" or help in Malay.
A shopkeeper next door realised that the shop was being robbed and called the police.
THE ESCAPE
Once Jegatheesh had filled the bag with S$119,288 worth of jewellery, he jumped over the counter and fled to the Honda. Jegatheesh removed his robbery clothes and changed into another outfit before placing the used clothing into the duffel bag.
He instructed Veeramani to drive off with the Toyota, which contained the duffel bag, to await further instructions, while Jegatheesh drove the Honda away.
Veeramani kept some of the items for himself before handing the bag with the gold inside to Sharavindran. Sharavindran transferred the jewellery to a plastic bag and tried to get help to sell it but was unsuccessful, so he decided to safekeep the jewellery. Veeramani drove them both to Dakota Crescent, where there were abandoned HDB blocks.
Sharavindran climbed to the sixth floor and placed the duffel bag with Jegatheesh's clothing inside a toilet of a unit, before placing the plastic bag containing the jewellery inside the cistern of a toilet bowl in another unit, securing it with black tape.
When the police raided Veeramani's home at 1.30am on Aug 16, he threw the jewellery he had taken for himself out of his window. The police later arrested the three men and managed to recover all the jewellery.
Jegatheesh had been set for a trial but pleaded guilty on Thursday to one charge of conspiring to commit robbery, with two other charges taken into consideration.
PROSECUTOR ASKS FOR HIGHER TERM THAN CO-ACCUSED
The prosecutor asked for three years and six months' jail and six strokes of the cane as Jegatheesh was the mastermind of the offence.
He said the robbery caused "wide public alarm", was committed by a group of people, and was elaborately planned and premeditated.
Jegatheesh, who had no lawyer, said the prosecutor cited past cases that involved violence, threats or weapons, whereas he "did not even threaten anyone".
"I did not even say I want to kill anyone or kill the old man," he said. He added that the gold was recovered with his help, and said he had decided to plead guilty after "deep consideration" and "deep thinking".
The driver of the getaway car, Veeramani, was sentenced earlier this month to three years' jail and six strokes of the cane for his role. The third accused, Sharavindran, will be sentenced at a later date.
For robbery, Jegatheesh could have been jailed between two and 10 years and given at least six strokes of the cane.
