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S'pore dad, 39, steals 55 toys worth S$300 from Sembawang mall claw machine for 3 kids, gets gets 1 week 3 days' jail
His children said they failed to win any prizes.
December 04, 2024, 07:47 PM
A 39-year-old father of three was sentenced to one week and three days' jail for theft after he pleaded guilty to stealing 55 toys from a claw machine at Sembawang Shopping Centre.
The accused, Mohamad Fazil Bin Jantan, faced three charges, according to Shin Min Daily News.
The prosecution proceeded with two charges, with one remaining charge taken into consideration.
Tilted claw machine
According to court documents, the accused took his three children to Sembawang Shopping Centre at around 8pm on Jan. 6, 2023.
The four of them entered a claw machine shop at around 10pm.
The father said his children complained that they had played several rounds at the different claw machines but did not win any prizes.
In response, he lifted the claw machine with both hands and then tilted it backwards, causing many toys inside the machine to fall out from the prize retrieval hatch.
The father then repeated his actions, and the family of four eventually took away 55 toys worth S$300.
The toys were then put in a plastic bag in a shopping cart and the four of them left the store.
At 10:55pm on the same day, the store's owner arrived and found the claw machines empty.
He checked the surveillance footage and discovered the man's actions and called the police.
The police identified the suspect four days later on Jan. 10 and seized the stolen toys.
Another case
The man was also accused of going to a clothing store in Causeway Point to commit theft at around 11:34am on Feb. 7, 2024.
He had taken two pieces of clothing to the fitting room but only came out with one.
He told the staff he had already paid for one piece of clothing and paid S$14.90 for the remaining one.
He then left with the two pieces of clothing in his possession.
The radio frequency identification (RFID) tag did not trigger the anti-theft alarm as it was removed from the piece of clothing that the man did not pay for.
Top photo via Unsplash
