M’sian man, 38, steals S$34,897 worth of jewellery from ex-colleagues at Outram Bak Kut Teh, left for Batam hours later

A Malaysian man has been sentenced to eight months' jail for breaking into a unit in Spottiswoode Park Road and stealing S$34,897 worth of gold jewellery in March 2026.

The jewellery belonged to the man's former colleagues who were living in the unit, according to Shin Min Daily News.

The man, 38-year-old Deva Seelan Sati Veloo, reportedly used to work with them at Outram Park Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh, a popular eatery not far from the unit.

He used to live in the house as well, but moved out after he resigned from the eatery in December 2024.

On Nov. 10, Deva pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, while two other charges for housebreaking and criminal trespass were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The theft

Deva was caught on CCTV footage going up and down the lift of the Spottiswoode Park Road building on Mar. 28, 2026.

He broke into the unit and stole the jewellery in about 17 minutes, according to court documents.

Soon after exiting the lift at 2pm, he went to the Singapore Cruise Centre and took a ferry to Batam at 2:43pm.

The theft was discovered by one of the victims at 3pm.

When he returned to the unit, he saw that the metal gate padlock was missing, and later realised that the two gold bracelets and a gold ring had been stolen from his room.

They were valued at about S$21,084 in total.

He called another tenant, who lived in a separate room in the same unit, to tell him what happened.

This second man hurried back to the unit, and discovered that a gold necklace valued at RM44,040 (about S$13,813) was also missing from his room.

The necklace had been kept in an unlocked drawer, the victim told Shin Min. There were no signs of the room being searched, he added.

The victims lodged a police report at 4:11pm, and a police gazette arrest notice was issued.

Deva was arrested on Apr. 24, upon his return to Singapore from Batam, and has been remanded since.

No restitution

The prosecution sought a sentence of eight months, which was imposed by the court.

The stolen items could not be recovered, and Deva has not made any restitution for them, the prosecution said.

The court did not order Deva to compensate his former colleagues, who attended the Nov. 10 court hearing, Shin Min reported.

However, they were informed that they could pursue a civil action to seek compensation.

The boss of Outram Park Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh, who did not attend the hearing, told Shin Min he believes Deva would never return to work in Singapore again.

"The victims will probably not forgive him, as [the stolen items] were their hard-earned money," he said.