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SINGAPORE – A man and woman linked to a series of thefts of 2020 budget grocery vouchers from the Housing Board’s mailboxes in Singapore have been charged in court.
Miqheul Wahyudean Abdullah, 24, was charged with three counts of robbery, while Irwani Nur Amira Azami, 23, was charged with two counts of robbery.
Miqheul and Irwani were arrested on Wednesday (October 14) for allegedly stealing Budget coupons from HDB mailboxes.
They had allegedly worked together sometime between 8 p.m. on October 6 and 3:30 a.m. on October 7 to open mailboxes in Block 872 Tampines Street 86.
The duo are accused of stealing 15 grocery vouchers valued at $ 10 each from the mailboxes of two victims. The amount allegedly stolen was $ 300.
Miqheul had allegedly stolen vouchers at the same location on another occasion and was charged with an additional count of theft.
The duo are scheduled to appear in court again on November 6, as investigations into their case are still ongoing.
If convicted of theft, the offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
Separately, the police also arrested five others, three men and two women, for their alleged involvement in the theft of these shopping vouchers elsewhere in Singapore.
It was previously reported that a 37-year-old woman had been arrested on Sunday for allegedly stealing Budget 2020 grocery coupons from a residential block on Toa Payoh Lorong 7.
A 41-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman were also arrested Wednesday for the alleged theft of vouchers in a residential block on Marsiling Road.
On Thursday, two 54-year-old men were arrested in separate cases for allegedly stealing coupons from flats in Telok Blangah Rise and Holland Close.
Police investigations into these cases are ongoing, but in a statement Thursday, Singapore Police said these robbery cases “are probably unrelated and opportunistic in nature.”
Police have also received reports of similar incidents in other developments and said they are intensifying their efforts “with a view to apprehending the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.”
Members of the public who are eligible for Budget 2020 grocery vouchers are encouraged to collect them from their mailbox as soon as possible and to keep their mailbox safe at all times.
Those who suspect their coupons have been stolen should immediately file a police report and call the Grocery Voucher hotline at 1800-2222-888 to request that their coupons be voided and replaced. Voided vouchers cannot be redeemed.
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