Three Singaporeans, Tiffany Tan Hwee Shuan, Oh Jia Kai and Oh Jia Cheng, had hatched a plan to steal from Tan's family, involving cash and items amounting to S$57,000.

Jia Cheng is the twin brother of Tan's boyfriend, Jia Kai.

The trio tried to fool the family into thinking that there was a burglary, and have pleaded guilty to theft with common intention on Tuesday (Apr. 13), according to Yahoo.

Valuables stolen included Tan's father's cash as well as piggy banks and items from her elder brother's safe. The safe contained items such as cash, 12 Zodiac Singapore dollar coins, foreign coins and a Rolex watch.

What happened

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that Jia Kai, Tan's boyfriend, took her mother out for supper so there would be no one at home. The father and brother were also not in that that time.

After Tan boarded the car with her mother and Jia Kai, she lied that she was going back to retrieve her phone from their Bukit Batok HDB flat.

Jia Kai waited with Tan's mother while Tan entered the unit alone. She then took the valuables from the house, including an envelope of money containing S$34,000 belonging to her father, and then dragged everything to the lift lobby, where Jia Cheng had been waiting.

Jia Cheng helped her to carry the stolen items and store it in a car that Tan rented. Meanwhile, Tan returned to the car where her boyfriend and mother were waiting.

This took place on July 11.

On July 12, the family called the police after realising that their valuables were missing.

Tan also lied to her brother and the police that she was missing S$3,000 in order to make herself seem like a victim.

What happened to the valuables

Court documents said that on July 12, Tan and Jia Kai transferred the stolen goods to another car that Tan had rented.

They got Jia Cheng's friend, Vincent Koh Bing Jie, to help with breaking the safe open.

Jia Cheng and Koh then packed all the valuables into several plastic bags, and placed it inside a luggage.

The luggage was later placed in a self-storage facility.

Court documents said that the money belonging to Tan's father, amounting to around S$34,000, was handed over to Tan and Jia Kai's friend, Wong Kin Pong, for safekeeping.

Several days later, Jia Kai took S$14,000 from Wong to celebrate Tan's birthday later that month. Out of the S$14,000:

• Jia Kai gave Tan S$950,
• purchased a S$3,150 Louis Vuitton bag for her,
• placed S$7,100 inside the bag,
• and paid S$2,800 to a bar for the birthday party.

Arrested

On July 21, 2020, Jia Cheng was arrested after being traced from police camera footages and later admitted to the offence. The footage showed him walking out of the lift with bulky bags on July 11, according to court documents.

Jia Kai and Tan, who were arrested afterwards, also admitted to the offence.

The police also conducted a raid at the self storage facility to recover the valuables. The remaining S$20,000 and the bag containing the cash was also recovered. Tan restituted the S$6,900 she had spent with her boyfriend.

Top photo via istockphoto, via.