Robber in Singapore gets 12 years in jail, 24 strokes of the cane

The man being pinned down by two others had allegedly attacked a victim with a knife and tried to make away with the victim’s laptop bag on Nov 14. PHOTO: STOMP/THE STRAITS TIMES/ANN

SINGAPORE – A 39-year-old Indonesian man was on Thursday sentenced to 12 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane for a brazen and violent robbery that shocked a lunchtime crowd in the center of the financial district more than a year ago.

Arun, who goes by only one name, was detained by several passers-by after stabbing Mr Kang Tie Tie, a courier for moneychangers, outside the Raffles Place MRT station before making off with his bag containing nearly $800,000.

More than 20 calls were made to the police shortly after the incident on Nov 14, 2014, the High Court heard.

Arun, who spoke through a Mandarin interpreter, had come to Singapore from Batam on Nov 13, 2014, and stayed at the Festive Hotel at Resorts World Sentosa.

The next morning, he bought a knife from a hardware shop in Tiong Bahru before going to The Arcade in search of a target to rob. He knew that there were numerous banks and moneychangers in the Collyer Quay building from his previous visits to Singapore.

Walking around the building, he decided to rob Mr Kang, who was also an Indonesian, after seeing the victim handling stacks of money.

Arun followed Mr Kang and stabbed him multiple times on the right side of his body and right arm, before snatching away his bag. Four short clips of Mr Kang chasing after the robber, taken from surveillance footage, were played in court.

Mr Kang was discharged from hospital three days later. He was given 23 days’ hospitalization leave and 19 days’ outpatient medical leave.

The court heard that the victim was left with a claw deformity of his right hand with no sensation in his ring and little fingers.

Before he was led away by guards, Arun spoke to his lawyer S Balamurgan, wishing him a happy new year.