Boy, 14, drugged sex worker & stole items worth S$47,200 in S'pore with M'sian man

After learning that his "big brother" from Malaysia had run into debts in 2022, a Chinese national living in Singapore, then 14, proposed to steal from a hairdresser, then 71, whom he had a previous dispute with.

On Oct. 14, 2022, the pair arrived at the hairdresser's salon with a toy gun, and the Malaysian man choked the hairdresser from behind while the boy stole S$900 from the salon, reported Shin Min Daily News.

However, as the Malaysian man felt the money was too little, he conspired with the boy to solicit a sex worker online and knock her out with sleeping pills before stealing valuables from her.

The pair subsequently carried out their plan: the Malaysian man scheduled an appointment with a sex worker to meet her at her unit, while the boy pretended to be her patron, drugged her, and took items worth S$47,200 from her.

The pair's offences came to light after the sex worker lodged a police report the next day.

On Apr. 28, 2025, the court ordered the boy, now 17, to undergo at least one year of reformative training after he admitted to his offences.

The Malaysian man, 38, was sentenced to four years and nine months in jail and caned 24 strokes after he pleaded guilty to his offences.

Knew Malaysian man in Sep. 2022

According to court documents seen by Shin Min, the boy knew the Malaysian man, surnamed He (transliteration), in September 2022.

At the time, He was working at a phone shop in Geylang, where the boy went to buy a SIM card.

Thereafter, the pair began texting each other frequently, with the boy calling He "big brother" and He calling the boy "little brother".

Malaysian man initially planned on stealing from flat mates

When He told the boy that he was in debt, he also revealed that he planned on stealing from his two female flat mates, reported Shin Min.

As he suspected them to be sex workers, he believed that they would not dare to alert the police even if he stole from them.

However, he did not carry out his plan eventually.

Sold stolen Rolex watches

After He stole S$900 from the hairdresser with the boy, he went on to schedule a meet-up with a 40-year-old sex worker to pocket more valuables, reported Shin Min.

As per their plan, the boy met the sex worker at her unit and asked her to drink a beer mixed with sleeping pills.

After she was knocked out, the boy let He inside the unit, where the woman kept several branded items, including two Rolex watches.

One of the watches was worth S$25,000, while the other was priced at S$15,000.

He subsequently sold the two Rolex watches at S$24,000 and handed the boy S$1,500.

The Malaysian man also gifted the boy's girlfriend a necklace they stole from the sex worker.

Boy drove underage while on bail

While the boy was released on bail in April 2024, he decided to go out and have dinner with his girlfriend by driving her mother's car, reported Shin Min.

The boy then drove against traffic along Jalan Besar before doing so again along Plumer Road.

When a police officer on patrol spotted the boy's errant driving, he asked the boy and his girlfriend to alight from the car and assist with investigations.

Boy 'learnt his lessons': counsel

For his offences, the boy faced a total of 16 charges, including theft, housebreaking, and violating the Road Traffic Act, reported Shin Min.

The boy pleaded guilty to six of these charges.

Besides ordering him to undergo reformative training, the court also forbade the boy from acquiring a driving licence or driving in Singapore for a year.

During court proceedings, the boy's counsel said the boy targeted the hairdresser because he wanted to get back at the hairdresser for hurling rude remarks at his girlfriend.

The lawyer added that the boy only drove underage in April 2024 because he wanted to take his girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time, out to fulfil her food cravings.

The boy had learnt his lessons and hoped to have the opportunity to continue his education, said the counsel.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News