Man, 26, tried to rob Choa Chu Kang store with metal rod but failed, gets jail & caning

A 26-year-old man in Singapore was found guilty of attempting to rob a store and verbally abusing a public servant, as well as possessing a dangerous weapon.

The man, Chia Yin Xiang Harry, was sentenced to two years and six months' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

Attempted robbery

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Chia's first charge pertained to him attempting to rob a store using a metal rod.

On Apr. 14, 2024, Chia attempted to buy a pack of cigarettes, but found that he had insufficient money.

His grandmother also refused to lend him the cash when he called her to ask for it, leading to him feeling like she did not care for him and that he would be better off arrested by the police.

His attempt to be arrested, by claiming to have stolen a bottle of green tea from a convenience store in Choa Chu Kang, UStars at 3am, was thwarted when the 53-year-old cashier let him off on the condition that he put the bottle back.

Instead, Chia later returned to the store with a metal rod, and used it to threaten the staff to open the cash register.

The cashier said the cash register could be opened only with a purchase.

Chia was also told that there were CCTV cameras in the store.

Court documents stated that the cashier was eventually able to convince Chia to leave the store, which he complied with.

The police said in a statement in April 2024 that officers managed to arrest Chia within two hours after the report was made.

As Chia had held the metal rod against the cashier's neck in an attempt to extort money from him, he was found guilty of attempted robbery.

He was sentenced to the mandatory minimum two years' jail and six strokes of the cane.

Verbally abused NEA officer

Chia was also accused of using abusive language towards a National Environment Agency (NEA) officer on Aug. 18, 2023 in a separate incident.

The officer confronted Chia for littering after a cigarette was thrown on the ground around Tiong Bahru.

When he issued a Notice to Attend Court to Chia for his offence, Chia responded by asking, "do you think I got a lot of money to pay for this?"

Upon walking away, Chia proceeded to crush the notice and throw it away in front of the officer and his duty partner.

When the officers confronted Chia again and attempted to explain the situation, Chia responded by pointing his middle finger and hurling a vulgar phrase at the officer.

Chia continued to spew profanities and express rude gestures, including retorting, "you think smoking place easy to find ah".

After he left the scene, the officer filed a police report.

The exchange was captured on the officer's body-worn camera, the court noted.

The prosecution said Chia had "a complete lack of regard for lawful authority" and sentenced him to a short custodial sentence.

Possession of dangerous weapon

Chia was also found guilty of unlawfully being in possession of a knuckleduster, classified as a scheduled weapon, on Mar. 14, 2024.

Police were brought to Chia's location at a block in Yishun, after they received a tip-off via a "999" call at about 3am.

Chia told the police that he carried the knuckleduster around due to disputes he had with his colleagues, who were allegedly gang members.

At the time he was found, he was supposedly about to meet his colleagues to settle the dispute.

He also said he had been in possession of the weapon since he was 13 years old.

For this offence, he was sentenced to six months' jail and a mandatory six strokes of the cane.

Top image via Pixabay