Recalcitrant thief who stole at 10 libraries across Singapore gets 8 years' preventive detention

SINGAPORE: A stateless man who has been reoffending since 1989 went back to crime within six months of being released from jail, stealing phones and laptops at public libraries across the island.

Sim Chye Lai, 47, was sentenced on Tuesday (Jun 23) to eight years' preventive detention, a year more than his last sentence.

Preventive detention places recalcitrant offenders in jail for seven to 20 years to protect the public from the offender, with no reduction of the sentence for good behaviour.

Sim pleaded guilty to six charges of theft, with another 10 charges taken into consideration. 

He mostly stole phones and laptops left unattended by people at libraries in Orchard, Clementi, Harbourfront, Bukit Panjang, Sembawang, Yishun, Tampines, Bedok, Pasir Ris and Bukit Batok.

BEGAN STEALING WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF RELEASE

The court heard that Sim began stealing within six months of being released from his last sentence, committing 16 offences from August 2019 until November 2019, when his bail was revoked.

On Aug 8, 2019, he went to library@harbourfront intending to steal unattended items and sell them for cash.

He noticed that a man had left his Huawei phone and tablet unattended at a charging station, and took both items.

He tried to sell them, but could not as they were password-protected, so he threw them into a dustbin at a hawker centre in Chinatown.

The owner later lodged a police report, but the items have not been recovered.

Sim also stole two phones worth about S$400 in total from a man who had left the devices charging while he read newspapers at Sembawang Public Library.

Another victim left her laptop charging at the charging station at the same library while she read some books, and Sim filched this too.

On Oct 1, 2019, Sim stole a laptop worth S$1,100 left unattended on a chair at library@orchard, while the owner was in the washroom.

The owner alerted the librarian, and a police report was lodged. Closed-circuit television footage captured Sim removing the laptop bag but his identity could not be established at the time.

A library manager on duty at Bishan Public Library recognised Sim from the footage nine days later, as she had handed the footage over to the police.

She tailed Sim, who went to Serangoon Public Library. She then called the police for help, and Sim was placed under arrest.

However, he was released on bail and continued to reoffend, until his bail was revoked the following month and he was remanded.

UNCOOPERATIVE DURING INVESTIGATIONS

During most of the investigations, Sim was uncooperative, refusing to answer questions by the police, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng.

He asked for eight years' preventive detention, to reflect the escalation in Sim's offending conduct, noting that Sim has a long history of related offences since 1989.

He has reoffended "with consistent regularity" and proven himself to be a habitual offender "with blatant disregard for the property of others", said Mr Ng.

His "troubling pattern" of persistent offending include 10 convictions since the age of 17, said Mr Ng.

His list of convictions include: Theft by a clerk or servant in 1989, theft in 1990, theft in 1991, theft and cheating in 1998, theft in 2002 and theft by a clerk or servant in 2012. 

He was given fines at first, but this grew to jail terms that later became six years' corrective training and seven years' preventive detention.

"Given the seriousness of the accused's (previous convictions) and his persistence in offending, a sentence of at least eight years' preventive detention would be expedient for the protection of the public," said Mr Ng, adding that Sim ought "to be taken out of circulation altogether in order that he be not afforded even the slightest opportunity to give sway to his criminal tendencies again".

District Judge Marvin Bay said Sim has not benefitted from rehabilitative efforts, and his previous preventive detention was "ineffective" in restraining him from reoffending.

In the preventive detention report that assessed Sim as suitable for the sentence, Sim was found to have a moderate to high chance of recidivism.

The judge said the scale of Sim's offending has also escalated, describing his recent behaviour as a "relentless targeting of hapless and trusting library users".

The penalty for each count of theft is a maximum three years' jail, a fine, or both.