Husband and wife previously convicted of theft plead guilty to stealing 6 cans of abalone from Cold Storage

SINGAPORE: A couple who have previous convictions for theft pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Feb 22) to stealing six cans of abalone from Cold Storage in January last year.

The husband, 65-year-old Enver Druce Ernest, was sentenced to a week's jail for one count of theft with common intention. His wife, 59-year-old Becky Low Yoke Lin, will be assessed to see if she is suitable for a mandatory treatment order and will return to court next month for sentencing.

The court heard that Enver was a general manager at the time, while Low was a housewife. They went to Cold Storage at Cluny Court in 501 Bukit Timah Road on the evening of Jan 8, 2021.

As they browsed the shelves, Enver took some items and placed them in a shopping basket. However, when they came to a shelf displaying cans of abalone, Low said she wanted to gift some to her mother.

The couple then decided to steal the abalone cans. Enver took six cans of Skylight Australian abalone worth S$55 each, with a total value of S$330, and put them in his shopping basket.

He later passed the basket to his wife, who transferred the abalone cans into a bag she had.

Low then walked out of the supermarket with the cans in her bag, without paying for them. Her husband returned the other items in the shopping basket to the shelves and left the supermarket.

The couple then drove home with the stolen abalone.

Their actions were caught on the supermarket's closed-circuit television cameras, and the store manager lodged a police report.

The police identified the couple and arrested them at their residence. They searched the home and found the six cans of abalone in a wardrobe. The cans were returned to the supermarket.

The court heard that both Low and her husband have previous theft convictions. Low was convicted of two counts of theft in 2009 and fined S$3,000, while Enver was fined in 1975 for theft and again in 2009 for theft with common intention.

The couple's lawyer called for a report assessing Low's suitability for a mandatory treatment order. He said Low was suffering from depression and prolonged grief following the death of her sister in 2018.

He also cited a psychiatric report stating that Low meets the criteria for kleptomania. She continues to attend follow-up appointments for both psychotherapy and psychiatric consultations, said the lawyer.

Low is the sole caregiver of her 83-year-old mother, he added. 

As for Enver, he has worked in the oil and gas industry for the past 20 years but is currently seeking employment after his last employment contract ended in December.

He pleads for a second chance to turn his life around and rebuild his family with dignity, said the lawyer.

For theft, he could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.