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A Grab driver was jailed for three years yesterday for being the hit-and-run driver in a robbery.
Veeramani Subran Das, 37, also received six strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to being an accessory to the robbery.
His co-defendants are M. Jegatheesh, 27, a driver from Gojek, and Sharavindran Suppiah, 31, who is unemployed.
The trio first met on August 13 of last year, when Jegatheesh shared the plan to rob Hock Cheong Jade and jewelry in Ang Mo Kio.
He told Veeramani to be the getaway driver and pass the gold to Sharavindran to sell.
Jegatheesh met Veeramani at a parking lot in Ang Mo Kio around 2:40 p.m. the next day.
At 3.50 pm, Jegatheesh left and entered the store at 4.05 pm. He yelled at the two elderly co-owners not to move or speak.
They feared for their safety and did not confront Jegatheesh, but pressed hidden alarm buttons.
Security camera footage from the store that was displayed in court yesterday showed Jegatheesh wearing a motorcycle helmet, slipping jewelry from the displays into a duffel bag before fleeing.
It took almost $ 120,000 worth of jewelry.
At approximately 4.15pm, he entered Veeramani’s car in a nearby parking lot and handed her the stolen items before changing his clothes.
They later left the area in separate cars.
At 6 p.m., Veeramani passed the stolen items to Sharavindran, but was left with three jewels.
Later, Sharavindran hid the stolen items in an abandoned unit in Dakota Crescent when he was unable to sell them.
When the police raided Veeramani’s home on August 16, they threw the stolen jewelry out the window. The items were recovered by the police.
CRITICAL ROLE
Yesterday, Assistant District Attorney Thiagesh Sukumaran urged the court to jail him for three years with six strokes of the baton, saying Veeramani played a pivotal role in the brazen and daring robbery.
As mitigation, Veeramani asked for a lighter sentence, saying he was an only child who cared for his elderly mother and paid child support for two children.
His accomplices are awaiting trial, which is expected to begin next Tuesday.
For being an accessory to the robbery, Veeramani could have been jailed for up to 10 years. He was given a minimum of six baton strokes for the infraction.
His sentence was retroactive to August 17 of last year, when he was in preventive detention.
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