A 75-year-old Malaysian woman, who has been convicted multiple times since 1971 for theft in Singapore, was sentenced on Nov. 1, 2023, to four years in prison, once again, for theft.

According to Shin Min Daily News, Ng Kim Swee was fined in 1971, sentenced to 10 years of preventive detention in 2004, and had served multiple stints in jail.

CNA reported that Ng was also convicted of theft and house-breaking offences in Malaysia in 1977, 1985, 1987, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Looks for open handbags in crowded stores

According to the prosecution, Ng Kim Swee was a serial thief who looked for victims with open handbags in crowded stores.

She would check for observers and closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) before positioning herself out of the CCTV's line of sight.

Ng would then place herself beside her target and pretend to browse for items before using her other hand to take the victim's wallet.

Most of her targets were tourists

For her most recent offences, in which she stole over S$7,000 worth of items and cash, her victims were mostly tourists.

In one incident on Feb. 1, 2023, Ng targeted a 65-year-old Indonesian tourist at St. Leaven Bakery in Takashimaya shopping centre.

Ng targeted the victim as her handbag was unzipped.

Ng stood beside the victim, picked up a packet of bread in one hand and retrieved the victim's wallet from the handbag with her other hand.

The wallet contained cards and cash of S$2,000 and 3 million rupiah (S$258).

In another earlier incident on Jan. 22, 2023, Ng stole a Gucci wallet from a 44-year-old Singaporean at the Louis Vuitton store at Marina Bay Sands.

After Ng was arrested, she was charged for both incidents on Feb. 8, 2023.

Stole over S$1,000 from a South Korean tourist while on bail

However, she reoffended while out on bail on Feb. 15, 2023.

This time, Ng targeted a 48-year-old South Korean woman at a store in Bugis Village.

Ng took the tourist's wallet from her handbag, which was unzipped.

When she realised that the wallet was of little value, Ng discarded it in a different aisle of the store and took the cash of US$750 (S$1,023) and S$85.

She was charged again for this incident on Apr. 26, 2023, and her bail was revoked.

She was soon released on a higher bail amount.

She stole again a few days later and was subsequently remanded.

A total of nine statements were taken from Ng during investigations, and she lied in all of them, claiming that she did not steal, even when presented with CCTV footage.

"Recalcitrance at every opportunity": Prosecution

After presenting Ng's lengthy criminal record in Singapore and Malaysia to the court, the prosecution described her as showing "recalcitrance at every opportunity".

The prosecution had decided to seek a prison term of four to six years instead of a lengthier preventive detention sentence on account of Ng's advanced age and leniency.

Claims husband took money she earned to spend on vices

During her mitigation plea, Ng spoke through a Hokkien interpreter.

According to Shin Min Daily News, she said she comes from an "unfortunate family".

She said her husband took the money she earned to gamble and visit prostitutes,  and she had to steal to "fend for herself and her children".

CNA reported that the lawyer said his son was temporarily in a wheelchair as he had been "standing too long to make ends meet".

"Borrowing from the rich"

According to CNA, Ng also promised that "this will be her final time" stealing things.

"She had no choice but to do all these things as she was desperate," the interpreter said. "She feels that she was just borrowing from the rich to help her in her dire situation."

The judge said he hoped that this would really be her last time offending.

Top photo via Unsplash/Aris Sfakianakis