Duo in Pasir Panjang heist may have been involved in more thefts
An A4-sized hole had been cut into the shop's safe and about half-a-million dollars was missing, said co-owner of the shop Mr Loh Yong Soon. Photo: Singapore Police Force Facebook page
SINGAPORE – The Vietnamese duo who broke into a fruit wholesale shop and stole S$500,000 in cash could have been involved in more cases of a similar nature, a court heard today (Jan 7), as the two men were each charged with housebreaking and theft by night.
Nguyen Van Nhat, 23, and Ngo Quang Phuoc, 35, have been remanded for further investigations and will appear in court again next Thursday. If found guilty, they could each be jailed up to 14 years and fined.
The district court heard that Nguyen and Ngo allegedly broke into Loh Ee Seng Trading Company, housed at Blk 25 Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, at about 1.30am on Tuesday by cutting ceiling window grilles.
The co-owner of the trading company, Mr Loh Yong Soon, told reporters earlier that he had made a police report at about 7am on Tuesday after discovering that his shop had been broken into and ransacked.
An A4-sized hole had been cut into the shop’s safe and about half a million dollars in cash was missing, said Mr Loh, whose brother Thomas Loh Yong Kiat is the other owner.
The money was intended for suppliers who prefer payment in cash and as bonuses to company staff for the upcoming Chinese New Year, he added.
Nguyen and Ngo were nabbed at about 10.30pm on Tuesday at Marina Bay Sands. Their identities were established with the help of a taxi driver who picked them up along West Coast Highway while they were making their way back to a hotel room in MBS with their alleged ill-gotten gains.
According to the police, about S$433,000 in cash and S$10,000 worth of luxury goods were seized from the two men.
The cash loot is the largest amount that the Clementi Police Division has recovered in two years.
