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Shaffiq Alkhatib
The times of the strait
November 18, 2020
A merchant who found another man’s bank card used it to withdraw a total of $ 8,000 from automated teller machines (ATMs), after correctly guessing the personal identification number (PIN) on his third attempt.
Yap Yi San, 39, was sentenced Wednesday (November 18) to nine weeks in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of robbery involving $ 4,000.
Two other theft charges related to the remaining $ 4,000 were considered during sentencing.
The Singaporean also admitted a charge of dishonest misappropriation of the card.
District Judge Marvin Bay said the PIN was “a series of six eights and therefore easily cracked.”
He added: “Given the universal use of (ATMs), it is important that the ruling serves as a sufficient deterrent to deter others who may be tempted to try their luck when they come across someone else’s ATM card.”
The 46-year-old victim had made a bank transfer at an ATM at Lorong 8 Toa Payoh around 8pm on April 2 and forgot to get her card back after the transaction.
Later, Yap saw the card sticking out of the machine and took it.
He went to another ATM at Lorong 6 Toa Payoh and tried to guess the PIN.
He managed to type in the correct numbers on his third try and withdrew $ 2,000.
Yap went to a third nearby ATM shortly after and used the card to withdraw another $ 2,000.
The victim verified her bank transactions around 12:10 am on April 3 and alerted the police when she saw the unauthorized withdrawals.
The court heard Wednesday that Yap has made a full restitution.
For each count of theft, a criminal can be jailed for up to three years and fined.
And for misappropriating someone else’s ATM card, a criminal can be jailed for up to two years and fined.
