Man charged with attempted robbery at Bedok pawn shop

SINGAPORE: A 67-year-old man was charged on Monday (Jul 15) with the attempted robbery of a pawn shop in Bedok.

Omar Abdullah is accused of attempting to commit robbery at Valuemax Pawn Shop at Block 213 Bedok North Street 1 at about 1.50pm on Friday. 

The Singaporean allegedly armed himself with a chopper as a weapon and smashed it against a glass display case containing jewellery.

According to the pawn shop manager, Omar had entered the store wearing a mask and wielding the chopper.

When he slammed it against the display case, the weapon broke into two pieces, the manager told CNA.

Omar was arrested in Yishun on Saturday, 32 hours after the alleged robbery attempt.

The police said in a statement that he took great pains to conceal his identity by wearing a surgical mask on his face and changing his clothing multiple times after fleeing the scene.

Omar will be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric observation.

If convicted, he could be jailed between two and seven years.