Jail for twin brothers who helped woman steal S$57,000 from her family

• Oh Jia Kai, the boyfriend of Tiffany Tan Hwee Shuan, was sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail
• His twin brother, Oh Jia Cheng, received a sentence of 9 weeks’ jail
• The brothers helped her steal more than S$57,000 worth of items from her family home 

SINGAPORE — A pair of twins, who helped a woman hatch a plan last July to steal more than S$57,000 worth of items from her family home, was sentenced to jail on Wednesday (May 19).

Oh Jia Kai, 25, the boyfriend of the woman, Tiffany Tan Hwee Shuan, received a sentence of 15 weeks’ jail, while his brother Oh Jia Cheng got nine weeks’ jail.

A probation suitability report was called for Tan, 22, and she will return to court on June 29 to be sentenced. All three pleaded guilty to one count of theft with common intention last month. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kathy Chu sought a jail term of at least six months for her — the highest among the trio — because she came up with the plan to fool her family into thinking that their house was burglared and also because she had roped in the two men. 

They were exposed when a review of police camera footage showed Ong Jia Cheng walking out of the lift of the public housing block with two bulky bags at about 10.10pm on July 11 last year, the day of the theft.

He was arrested on July 21 after the police tracked down passenger details provided by ride-hailing firm Grab.

He deleted his Grab records and his messages with his brother and Tan, and then tried to deny that he was involved in the plan.

CRIME COMMITTED OUT OF 'MISGUIDED LOVE'

The brothers’ lawyer Sng Kheng Huat told the court that the brothers were “not prime movers” of the theft. 

Oh Jia Kai, he said, committed his offence out of “misguided love” for Tan, while his twin brother, who did not embezzle any part of the theft proceeds, just wanted to help his brother.

“They informed me that they wish to put this unfortunate incident behind them and concentrate on the path towards rehabilitation,” Mr Sng said.

District Judge Toh Yung Cheong eventually gave a shorter sentence than what the prosecution had asked, which was at least three months’ jail for Oh Jia Cheng and at least five months’ jail for Oh Jia Kai.

For Tan, a probation suitability report was called as her lawyer, Mr Kelvin Tan of Vicki Heng Law Corporation, said that she was 21 years old at the time of the offence. 

Probation is usually offered to first-time offenders between 16 and 21 years old and does not result in a criminal record. 

Asking for community-based sentencing or short custodial order to be considered as well, Mr Tan pointed out that his client is “severely and sincerely contrite” that she had involved others and has a family who is “supportive of us seeking a lenient sentence on her”.

He read out two letters from Tan’s family members including one from her brother, who wrote that it pains his family to see what Tan is going through and it had particularly “taken a toll on (their) father who is very unwell”.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that Tan first planned to steal a safe containing a S$11,500 Rolex watch, two gold rings and cash, among other things from her brother Theron Tan, then 28. 

She later discovered her father had S$34,000 in cash in his bag. 

A day before the theft, she rented a car to drive and another to store the stolen items. 

On July 11 at about 10pm, Tan and her boyfriend left the house with Tan’s mother to have supper while Tan’s father and brother were out. 

When they got into the rented car, Tan lied that she had left her mobile phone at home and went back to “retrieve” it.

She went back into her house and dragged the stolen items to the lift lobby and shouted to Oh Jia Cheng who was standing by on the floor above to take over and store the loot. Tan then rejoined her boyfriend and mother.

Vincent Koo Bing Jie, 25, a friend of Oh Jia Cheng, was allegedly roped in to help break open the safe. The stolen items were then stowed away in a self-storage facility.

Oh Jia Kai handed the S$34,000 belonging to Tan’s father to a friend for safekeeping and took S$14,000 out to spend on Tan for her birthday, which was on July 23.

Oh Jia Kai gave her S$950, paid S$2,800 to a bar for her birthday party on July 22, and bought her a S$3,150 Louis Vuitton bag in which he placed cash amounting S$7,100.

The police raided the storage facility on July 22 and later managed to recover S$27,100 in cash along with the Louis Vuitton bag and other items.