S'porean man stole S$600 in grocery vouchers, used some as offerings for late wife

He initially stole the vouchers because he felt it was 'unfair' that others had received them.

Jane Zhang | January 07, 2021, 02:36 PM

A Singaporean man, unhappy that he had not received any Budget 2020 grocery vouchers, stole S$600 worth from unsecured letterboxes in Marine Terrace.

The vouchers were meant to help less well-off Singaporean with their household expenses during the pandemic.

47-year-old Alvin Law Choon Huat was sentenced to four weeks' jail on Thursday (Jan. 7) after pleading guilty to two charges of theft, with another two charges taken into consideration, reported CNA.

Upset that he did not receive vouchers

According to court documents seen by Mothership, in October 2020, Law — who was unemployed at the time — became upset after checking his letterbox for Budget 2020 grocery vouchers and finding none.

He then decided to check if there were grocery vouchers in other letterboxes at Block 51 Marine Terrace, and to steal them to use if he found any.

He targeted letterboxes that weren't secured, either because the flaps were unsecured or the opening of the letterbox was damaged.

Law stole from four victims, taking 15 S$10 grocery vouchers (totalling S$150) from each letterbox and bringing them home for his own use.

Received his own vouchers, burnt some for his late wife

He initially stole the vouchers because he felt it was "unfair" that others had received them, court documents report.

However, a few days after he stole the vouchers from his victims' letterboxes, Law received his own set of grocery vouchers.

Instead of returning the stolen vouchers, though, Law mixed his vouchers together with the stolen vouchers and used them to purchase groceries from NTUC and Giant Supermarkets.

He also bought a handheld vacuum cleaner.

Law then burnt the remainder of the unused vouchers to offer as incense to his late wife.

All of the vouchers that he stole were either used or burnt, and to date, he has not made restitution.

Sentenced to four weeks' jail

Law was arrested on Oct. 29, 2020 at around 1:20pm on suspicion of theft.

Upon arresting him, police seized the handheld vacuum cleaner and two packets of chicken franks from his home, as they had been purchased using the stolen vouchers.

In court on Jan. 7, Law, who was unrepresented by a lawyer, asked for leniency, saying that he knew that he had made a mistake, reported CNA.

He added that he had spine surgery in 2015 and takes strong painkillers daily.

He also reportedly said that after taking his victims' vouchers and then receiving his own vouchers in the mail, he did not know how to handle the situation because he thought he would be arrested if he brought the stolen vouchers to the police.

CNA reported that Law had prior convictions for cheating and extortion.

Law was sentenced to four weeks' jail for theft of the grocery vouchers.

According to CNA, he requested to only begin serving his sentence after Chinese New Year, because his teenage daughter had no one else to take care of her as "it's just the two of us".

He was granted a deferment of his jail term to Feb. 15 by the judge.

Law could have been jailed for up to three years, fined or both.

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Top photo via Facebook / Loida Vincine and Photo by Henry & Co. on Unsplash.