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SINGAPORE: The mastermind behind a daylight robbery of S $ 119,000 at a jewelry store in Ang Mo Kio was sentenced on Thursday (12 November) to three years and three months in prison and six strokes of the baton.
M Jegatheesh, 28, admitted to hatching the plan with two other men, choosing to target the store at Block 574, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, as it looked old and was owned by elderly people.
The court heard that Jegatheesh was a Gojek driver at the time of the crime. His co-defendant, Veeramani Subran Das, was a driver for Grab at the time, while the third defendant, Sharavindran Suppiah, 32, was unemployed.
Jegatheesh planned to use his Honda Civic in the scheme alongside a Toyota Vellfire belonging to Veeramani.
On August 13, 2019, the three men met in Geylang, where Jegatheesh recounted the rest of his plan to rob the store the next day.
He took aim at the place because it looked old and thought it wouldn’t have an alarm installed. He also thought that the elderly owners could not resist.
Veeramani agreed to play the role of the leak conductor and transport the gold to Sharavindran, who was asked to help sell it.
At approximately 2.40 p.m. on August 14, Veeramani drove the Toyota to the parking lot at Block 521, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, before Jegatheesh parked his car next to him.
Veeramani then took over the wheel of the Honda, while Jegatheesh moved into the back seat and dressed in clothing including a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, gloves, and a helmet.
When Jegatheesh walked into the Hock Cheong Jade & Jewelery store at 4:27 p.m., the co-owners, aged 70 and 75, were there.
Jegatheesh tried to lower the entrance shade, before yelling “Don’t move! Don’t talk!” and jump on the jewelry display counter.
The two co-owners pressed hidden alarm buttons to notify an outside security company. They did not confront Jegatheesh because they feared for his safety.
Jegatheesh swept up jewelry, including gold necklaces, bracelets and pendants, into a canvas bag that he brought with him.
A variety of rings and pendants. (Photo: Kevin Kwang)
One of the co-owners asked Jegatheesh not to take so much jewelry, as he had a small shop, and yelled “tolong tolong” or help in Malay.
A shopkeeper next door realized the store was being robbed and called the police.
THE ESCAPE
After Jegatheesh filled the bag with jewelry worth S $ 119,288, he jumped on the counter and fled to the Honda. Jegatheesh took off his robbery clothes and put on other clothes before putting the used clothes in the duffel bag.
He ordered Veeramani to leave with the Toyota, which contained the duffel bag, to await further instructions, while Jegatheesh drove the Honda away.
Veeramani kept some of the items for himself before handing the bag with the gold inside to Sharavindran. Sharavindran transferred the jewelry to a plastic bag and tried to get help to sell it, but was unsuccessful, so she decided to put the jewelry away. Veeramani took them both to Dakota Crescent, where there were abandoned HDB blocks.
Sharavindran went up to the sixth floor and placed the duffel bag with Jegatheesh’s clothes inside a toilet in one unit, before placing the plastic bag containing the jewels into the cistern of a toilet bowl in another unit, securing it with black tape.
Police at the scene of a robbery that took place at a jewelry store in Ang Mo Kio on August 14, 2019 (Photo: CNA reader).
When the police raided Veeramani’s home at 1.30 am on August 16, they threw the jewelry she had taken out the window. Subsequently, the police arrested the three men and managed to recover all the jewelry.
Jegatheesh had been scheduled for trial, but on Thursday he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, and two other charges were being considered.
THE FISCAL REQUESTS A PERIOD GREATER THAN THE COACUSE
The prosecutor asked for three years and six months in prison and six strokes of the cane, since Jegatheesh was the mastermind of the crime.
He said the robbery caused “great public alarm”, was committed by a group of people and was elaborately planned and premeditated.
Jegatheesh, who did not have a lawyer, said the prosecutor cited past cases involving violence, threats or weapons, while “he did not even threaten anyone.”
“I didn’t even say that I wanted to kill anyone or kill the old man,” he said. He added that the gold recovered with his help and said he had decided to plead guilty after “deep consideration” and “deep thought.”
The driver of the getaway car, Veeramani, was sentenced earlier this month to three years in jail and six strokes of the cane for his role. The third defendant, Sharavindran, will be sentenced at a later date.
For theft, Jegatheesh could have been imprisoned for between two and ten years and received at least six strokes of the cane.
