Singapore — A woman told her husband that she wanted to give her mother a present. It looks like she thought her mother would appreciate some abalone.
The problem was that the prized shellfish cost $55 a can at Cold Storage in Cluny Road, where the couple had gone shopping.
So they did what seemed obvious to them – they stole six cans of abalone from the store. Too bad that CCTV cameras caught them doing it.
Both of them pleaded guilty pleas in court on Tuesday (Feb 22). Both Enver Druce Ernest, 65, and Becky Low Yoke Lin, 59, have prior convictions for stealing.
He got a week’s jail theft with common intention, while Low will be evaluated fto see if she is fit to undergo a mandatory treatment order. She is scheduled to return to court in March to be sentenced.
The couple had been shopping for groceries at the store in Bukit Timah Road on Jan 8, 2021, when Low put the six cans of Skylight Australian abalone in a bag that she had with her. Both walked out of Cold Storage without paying. The six cans were worth a total $330.
When the theft was caught on CCTV, the store manager reported it to the police and the couple were arrested at their home. The police found the six stolen cans in a closet there.
The court heard about their past convictions when this latest case was heard in court on Tuesday. Low has had been convicted before for two previous counts of theft, and Enver has been convicted for theft and theft with common intention.
Their lawyer, Peter Keith Fernando, cited a psychiatric report from the Institute of Mental Health on Low suffered from depression and prolonged grief after her sister died in 2018.
Mr Fernando also said Low has been diagnosed with kleptomania, which is the “recurrent inability to resist urges to steal items” that a person generally does not need. She is undergoing therapy and psychiatric consultations to keep her from reoffending.
Mr Fernando added that Low, a housewife, is fully responsible for caring for her mother, who is 83, which may be why she wanted the abalone so badly.
He is seeking a lighter sentence for Low, and called for a report to assess her suitability for a mandatory treatment order. “At the end of the day, the items were recovered and seized, and there was no gain or loss suffered,” TODAY quoted him as saying.
Enver, a general manager at the time of the theft, is now unemployed, with his most recent contract ending in December 2021. He has 20 years experience in the oil and gas industry.
CNA quotes Mr Fernando as saying that Enver is asking for a second chance to turn his life around and rebuild his family with dignity.
For stealing, the couple could have be jailed as long as seven years in jail and fined as well.
/TISG
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