Teenager with gambling problems climbed out of 12-floor window to steal money from his neighbor

SINGAPORE: A teenager with gambling problems recently stole money from his neighbor’s apartment in a very inconvenient way—by climbing up from the kitchen window. The young boy committed theft at least five times in the past six months, stealing approximately $900. 

The suspect faces five charges including burglary, theft, and violation of the Computer Misuse Act. More of the case details revealed that the victims is an elderly couple, probably in their sixties. In May 2023, the couple discovered that the money in their wallets, which they usually keep on the living room table at that time, had repeatedly disappeared for several months. 

In order to figure out what’s happening, the couple installed several CCTV cameras in their apartment. For a time, there were no thefts. However, in December last year, the wife discovered that $10 was missing from her wallet. The couple wanted to check the CCTV footage but the footage had been deleted. 

Several days later, the apartment was robbed again, and when they checked the CCTV, the wife saw a strange man enter their home and steal the money. After witnessing this, they immediately called the police. 

Further investigations stated that the suspect climbed up from his kitchen window to enter the victims’ home. The suspect also confessed that in order to raise gambling funds, he repeatedly committed the crime after one in the morning, taking advantage of the homeowners being asleep. 

The prosecution sentenced the suspect to a juvenile detention center, given that he had committed multiple offenses. But, the defense attorney pleaded to consider placing the suspect under probation supervision. 

In similar news about theft, there was a report last year where an Indonesian maid stole from an 81-year-old employer’s debit card. The maid tricked the victim into giving the password to access it. 

It was discovered that 22 transactions were made in two months, totaling more than S$7,000. 

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