Man, 48, charged with armed robbery at Shell petrol station
Photo: Internet screencap via Google Maps
SINGAPORE — A 48-year-old man was charged on Wednesday (Aug 2) with committing armed robbery in broad daylight at a Shell petrol station earlier this week.
Armed with a kitchen knife, Visvanathan Vaduvelu had allegedly taken off with S$1,193 from the petrol kiosk located at 219 Upper Bukit Timah Road at around 12.52pm on Monday.
The police said the Singaporean had threatened an employee of the petrol station - a 22-year-old woman - at knifepoint to place money from the cash register into a plastic bag.
Visvanathan, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet to disguise his identity, later fled on a scooter. He was later arrested on the same day at about 4.50pm along Jurong East Street 21.
He will be remanded for a week to assist with further investigations, and will next appear in court on Aug 8.
If found guilty, Visvanathan faces up to 10 years' jail and at least 12 strokes of the cane.
This was the first of two armed robbery incidents in as many days.
On Tuesday, a police manhunt was launched after an employee at a Western Union branch in Ubi was threatened at knifepoint to hand over more than S$2,000.
The robber then fled on foot with the cash. The Western Union branch, which offers money-transfer services, is located at Block 301, Ubi Avenue 1.
The employee was not hurt, and there was no other person at the outlet at the time.
