S’porean man, 34, steals S$6,200 from girlfriend, 31 & falsely reports he got robbed, gets 19 weeks’ jail

A 34-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 19 weeks’ jail after stealing S$6,200 from his 31-year-old girlfriend at the time and making a false police report that he had been robbed.

Reynold Lam Jia Yi faced three charges, including theft, providing false information to a public servant and a charge under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.

Lam pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced on Aug. 4.

The other charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Gambled

In court documents seen by Mothership, Lam and his then girlfriend lived together at the time of the offence.

On Feb. 1, 2025, Lam lost about S$9,000 through gambling on football games.

He became financially desperate as the sum was meant to be salary for part-time movers he engaged for his work.

Lam was aware that his girlfriend usually kept her money in her handbags placed in the unlocked wardrobe of their bedroom.

Sometime between 9am and 12pm, while he was alone at home, Lam proceeded to take cash amounting to at least S$6,200 from two of his girlfriend’s handbags without her consent.

He then left his home with the cash and later used it for his own personal expenses.

Lie

To conceal the theft, Lam intended to lie to his girlfriend, telling her that he had taken the cash to deposit it in a bank account on her behalf, but was unfortunately robbed.

He also intended to falsely report to the police that he was robbed to make his lie more credible.

At about 9:14pm in the vicinity of Bishan Street 11, Lam called the police and told them he had been robbed by two individuals.

“Earlier, I was being robbed at Block 152 along the main road by two Malay subjects ran towards Block 170 at about 8 plus. They snatched my money while counting about SGD $11,000,” Lam alleged.

Due to the serious nature of Lam’s report, 20 police officers were dispatched to attend to his claim.

Upon their arrival, Lam gave the police officers a detailed account, which included the number of subjects involved in the robbery, their respective roles, their physical description and attire and the presence of a female witness.

As a result, officers spent about two hours and 54 minutes performing “on scene investigations” and combing the vicinity for evidence and culprits.

During investigations, Lam continued to maintain his lie.

Revelation

On Apr. 21, 2025, Lam admitted that he was not robbed after he was interviewed about the result of a polygraph test he underwent.

He also admitted that the lie was to conceal the theft, and he was aware that he made a false report to the police.

On Aug. 27, 2025, Lam was arrested and was later released on bail on the same day.

He had also made partial restitution of at least S$3,000.