Singapore — On Wednesday (Jun 30) a teenage girl entered a guilty plea in court to one charge each of robbery with hurt and housebreaking to commit theft.
Last year, she and three youths, males ranging from 12 to 15, teamed up in beating a cabby and robbing him. And on a separate occasion, she and two boys entered a coffee shop illegally and robbed it of $600 worth of cigarettes.
The teenage girl’s name has been withheld as she is still a minor.
She faces additional charges to be taken into consideration for her sentencing—one for telling a police officer falsely that someone had tried to rape her and another two thievery charges.
The girl first fell afoul of the law on the night of Oct 8, 2020, when she met up with the three boys, aged 12 to 15, in Bukit Gombak.
The four planned on hailing a cab and ride in it without payment.Â
And if the taxi driver ran after them, they decided they would beat him up, as well as steal from him.
However, after the first taxi they took brought them to a carpark, they ran away, but the driver did not run after them.
They then hailed another cab which took them to Sungei Tengah Road by 11.30 pm.
While the boys opened the driver’s door and told him to come out of the cab, the girl acted as their lookout so they would not be caught.
The boys punched the 63-year-old cabby in the face at least twice, as well as stole $25 from him.
They then fled the scene and divided the money between them.
The Straits Times reports that the driver was found later with injuries on his face, as well as amnesia.
A few days later, on Oct 11, the girl and two of the teenage boys hatched a plan to break into a Choa Chu Kang coffee shop.Â
Shortly before 2 am on Oct 12, the three youths entered the establishment illegally and stole over 50 packs of cigarettes.
ST reported that yesterday in court, the teen was sobbing and hugging her mother before she entered the dock.
Reports concerning the girl’s suitability for reformative training and probation has been asked for by the judge.
She’ll be back in court on Jul 7.
District Judge May Mesenas placed the girl on remand for a week and said she hoped the teen would learn the realities of life in jail and that this experience would be a wake-up call.
As for her fellow teen offenders, one boy has already been given probation. The two other boys’ cases are currently before the courts.
For the offence of robbery with hurt, people who are convicted could go to jail for as long as 20 years, as well as receive a caning.
And for the charge of housebreaking to commit an offence, individuals found guilty may be jailed for as long as 10 years, as well as fined. /TISG
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