A man tried to commit robbery at a convenience store by holding a metal rod against the cashier’s neck but failed to do so after the latter told him there were CCTV cameras in the vicinity.
On July 21, Harry Chia Yin Xiang, 26, was sentenced to two years and six months’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
He had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit robbery over the incident which took place in April 2024. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of harassment and being in possession of a knuckleduster in separate incidents.
On April 14, 2024, Chia wanted to buy some cigarettes but realised that he did not have enough money to do so, deputy public prosecutors Tay Zhi Jie and Xavier Tan stated in court documents.
He then called his grandmother, who refused to hand him any cash.
“The accused felt that his grandmother did not care for him, and (felt that) it would be better for him if he got arrested by the police,” the DPPs said.
At around 3am, he entered the convenience store in Choa Chu Kang and told the cashier that he had stolen a bottle of green tea from it.
The cashier, 53, then replied that he would not take action against Chia if he returned the drink.
Chia left the store, only to return soon after with a metal rod, which he held against the cashier’s neck.
Chia told the cashier to open a cash register as he wanted the money stored inside.
The cashier replied that he could open it only when a purchase was made, and told Chia that there were CCTV cameras in the store.
Chia finally left the premises after the older man convinced him to do so and the police were alerted soon after.
In a statement in April 2024, the police said that officers managed to arrest Chia within two hours after the report was made.
In an unrelated case, the court heard that two auxiliary police officers attached to the National Environment Agency spotted Chia throwing a lit cigarette onto the ground near Tiong Bahru Plaza shopping mall at around 10.30am on Aug 18, 2023.
They approached him and asked for his identity card to check if he had been involved in other earlier offences.
One of the officers later printed out a “notice to attend court” and handed it to Chia.
He took the notice before he threw it away in their presence.
When confronted, Chia flashed an obscene hand gesture at one of the officers, abused him with vulgar language and left the premises.
Separately, Chia was found to be in possession of a knuckleduster in Yishun in the wee hours of March 14, 2024.
The DPPs said: “He told the police that he carried the knuckleduster as he was not on good terms with his colleagues, who were allegedly gang members.
“The accused had arranged to meet his colleagues at the incident location over a work dispute. By the time the police arrived, this meeting had not yet taken place.”
Chia had also claimed that he had bought the knuckleduster when he was 13 years old but could not recall where he purchased it.
Shaffiq Alkhatib for The Straits Times
Jail, caning for man who attempted convenience store robbery with metal rod
