July 11, 2023, 11:27 AM
A man in Singapore took his 60-year-old mother's ATM card and stole her money from her bank account to spend on clubbing.
His late father left the money behind before he passed away to help his unemployed mother cope with living expenses.
When his younger brother found out, the man promised to return the money. His younger brother eventually reported him to the police when he failed to do so.
Muhammad Zakaria bin Rosli, now 31, was sentenced to 24 weeks in jail after he pleaded guilty to theft charges on Jul. 6, 2023.
Had no money to go clubbing
According to court documents, Muhammad Zakaria bin Rosli withdrew sums ranging from S$50 to S$950 from his mother's account between Nov. 1, 2018 and Feb. 5, 2019.
On Nov. 1, Zakaria wanted to go clubbing but did not have enough money.
He was working as a sound technician.
He knew his mother's ATM card's PIN number from occasionally helping her buy groceries and decided to steal money from her bank account.
He stole his mother's ATM card and withdrew cash from the account.
Spent money at Orchard Towers
He would do the same thing another 36 times, stealing a total of S$23,750 and leaving only S$12,000 in her account.
Investigations revealed that he spent his ill-gotten gains at nightclubs in Orchard Towers.
Zakaria's theft was only discovered in February 2019, when his younger brother realised that nearly two-thirds of the money in their mother's bank account was missing.
Zakaria confessed to his theft when his younger brother confronted him and promised to repay his mother in monthly S$100 instalments.
This convinced Zakaria's mother not to report her son to the police.
Sentenced to jail
However, Zakaria did not make true to his promises and left for Indonesia in December 2022.
His brother then lodged a police report about the thefts.
The police arrested the 31-year-old Zakaria on Apr. 1, 2023, after he returned to Singapore from Indonesia.
Zakaria was handed two charges for theft.
He pleaded guilty to both charges on Jul. 6, 2023.
He was sentenced to 24 weeks in jail.
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