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SINGAPORE: A teenager planned a robbery by writing down details in a notebook of what he would use, what he would steal and how he would carry it out.
He appeared at a convenience store in Kembangan wearing a surgical mask, jacket and cap, wielding a knife and said “da qiang” or robbery in Mandarin. In response, the cashier told him to enter the store and fled to another store for help.
The teenager, who cannot be identified under the Children and Youth Act because he was under 18 at the time of the crime, received 27 months of probation on Wednesday (November 25). His attorney said to mitigate that his client was having trouble coping with the school.
The 16-year-old will have to stay at the Singapore Boys’ Hostel for six months, undergo regular urinalysis and psychiatric or psychological evaluations for his drug and alcohol use.
The court heard that the teenager detailed in his notebook that he would wear a hat, sunglasses, mask, hoodie, pants and covered shoes during the robbery. He planned to bring a knife and a large bag, and show the gun before stealing all the cigarettes and money from the register.
He also listed the prices of the cigarette packs in the notebook and planned to sell them for money.
At approximately 5:20 am on February 14 of this year, the teenager went to the Supermart New Econ Lin Da Mini at Block 110 Lengkong Tiga. He saw the cashier, a 58-year-old man, standing outside the entrance and approached him.
The teenager pointed his knife at the man and said “da qiang”, which means robbery in Mandarin. Scared, the cashier told the teenager that he should go to the store only if he wanted to steal.
The man then rushed to a nearby store to seek help, while the teenager entered the convenience store alone. He couldn’t open the cash register to steal the cash as he had planned, so he pulled 42 packs of cigarettes worth S $ 571.20 from a drawer.
The teen then put the cigarettes in his backpack and headed home, storing the items in his room.
Later, the owner of the minimart called the police saying that a man with a knife had gone to the store to rob and took many cigarettes, with events recorded on closed circuit television.
Police found the teenager at his home and arrested him. They found the cigarettes and the notebook detailing their plans.
The teenager pleaded guilty to one count of robbery. His attorney Luke Lee said his client was having trouble coping with his studies at school, and the teenager’s parents posted a bond of S $ 5,000 to guarantee good behavior during probation.
For armed robbery with a deadly weapon, he could have been imprisoned for between three and 14 years and received at least 12 strokes of the baton.
