A teenager has pleaded guilty in court over a robbery in Sengkang.
Knew the store was manned by only one person
18-year-old Jacob Seow decided to rob a 7-Eleven store at Blk 403A Fernvale Lane on Aug. 3, 2019.
At around 12:30am on Aug. 4, Seow started making preparations for the crime.
He knew that there would only be one staff member working there at night.
Additionally, Seow was reportedly hungry at the time and did not have money to buy food, CNA reported.
According to court documents, Seow took a fruit knife from his kitchen and stored it in his right pocket.
At about 1:10am, he entered the store with the intention to rob it.
At the time, 21-year-old Chan Wei Chuan was manning the counter alone.
While Seow was waiting for the store to empty, two of his friends entered, following which he told them to "get out".
After they left, Seow picked up a chocolate bar and placed it on the counter in front of Chan.
Seow then took out his knife and pointed it at Chan. He then demanded Chan to put money and cigarettes in his bag.
However, Chan said he could only give Seow the cigarettes as he was unable to open the cash register to retrieve the money.
Seow then went over to the other side of the counter to take the cigarettes himself.
He took six packets of cigarettes, worth S$79.60 in total.
Originally planned to rob second store
Chan's phone, which was placed on the cash register, apparently caught Seow's attention, but Chan quickly snatched it away and kept it in his pocket.
He then pleaded with Seow not to take his phone too, and Seow eventually relented.
Seow then snagged a S$2.90 "Cheesy Chicken" burger from the store's refrigerator.
He then approached Chan again and proceeded to strangle him.
Seow had hoped Chan would faint, and that would delay him from calling the police.
However, the teenager also feared that passers-by would enter the store, and stopped strangling Chan. He then thanked Chan for allowing him to steal the cigarettes and left.
After leaving, Seow made his way to a basketball court near his home, and changed into another set of clothes he had brought in his backpack to avoid detection.
He then ate the burger and smoke a cigarette from a pack he had stolen from the store.
Seow originally decided to rob another 7-Eleven store at Anchorvale as he did not manage to steal any money from the Fernvale store.
He spent 30 minutes walking to his destination, but changed his mind upon arriving as he did not have another set of clothing to change into.
Wanted to mimic movies
Seow plead guilty to one charge of robbery on Feb. 21, which was reduced from a charge of armed robbery.
Seow, who is currently serving National Service with the Singapore Civil Defence Force, is reportedly very sorry and had written a letter of apology to Chan.
Seow's lawyer added that he had felt the sudden urge to carry out an armed robbery as he had wanted to mimic robbery scenes from movies, according to CNA.
His lawyer stated that Seow had realised the "gravity of his actions", and was angry at himself for bringing shame to the family.
The judge called for probation and reformative training reports, and Seow will return to court on Feb. 28 for sentencing, CNA revealed.
Top photo from Wikimedia Commons