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Man stole Budget 2020 grocery vouchers to support pregnant wife

Budget 2020 grocery vouchers recovered by Singapore Police Force. (PHOTO: Singapore Police Force).
Budget 2020 grocery vouchers recovered by Singapore Police Force. (PHOTO: Singapore Police Force).

SINGAPORE — A man who had already received his own Budget 2020 grocery vouchers stole vouchers belonging to others as he wanted to support his pregnant wife.

R Mohan, 54, was jailed for five days on Thursday (4 March) after he pleaded guilty to one out of two counts of stealing 15 vouchers worth $150. The other charge involving another set of 15 was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

Mohan, who works as a taxi driver, said that he stole the vouchers as he was in financial need. He claimed that he needed to support his pregnant wife and that he could not work long hours due to medical conditions.

The Budget 2020 grocery voucher scheme was targetted at helping less well-off Singaporeans with their household expenses due to the economic difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those eligible would receive an envelope containing 15 vouchers worth a total of $150.

Facts of the case

In October last year, Mohan was at the void deck of Block 1 Holland Close when he noticed that several letterboxes were not locked. He decided to try his luck and see if there was anything valuable worth stealing. He opened two letterboxes and found a set of 15 vouchers in each.

The rightful recipient, a 63-year-old man, went to check his letterbox for vouchers on 7 October last year and did not see any.

He approached a staff member from Fei Yue Senior Activity Centre for assistance to check on the status of his grocery vouchers. A week later, he was told that eight of his vouchers had been redeemed. The man then lodged a police report.

Mohan had redeemed 23 of the vouchers he stole on groceries and household items. Eight of these had belonged to the elderly man. The seven unused vouchers were eventually recovered from his flat after Mohan was identified as the culprit.

During investigations, Mohan admitted that he had already redeemed his own set of 15 vouchers and resorted to stealing from others to support his pregnant wife.

He has since made restitution of $230 to the two victims involved.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Siaw sought a week’s jail for Mohan, stating that a jail term was warranted despite the relatively low amounts involved.

Given the high number of such cases, coupled with the ease of committing the offences and its potential harm, a sufficiently high deterrent sentence was necessary to prevent others from resorting to similar crimes, the DPP said.

As of 28 October last year, 229 sets of Budget 2020 grocery vouchers had been reported stolen, and the police made about 55 arrests.

Over the past few months, at least two others have also been jailed for stealing vouchers.

Zamri Mohamed Ali was jailed for a week after stealing two sets of vouchers, while Alvin Law Choon Huat was jailed four weeks after stealing four sets of vouchers.

Another woman, Asmah Isnin, has pleaded guilty to fishing the vouchers from letter boxes with a fish hook, pen and sticky tape. She is still awaiting her sentence.

For theft, Mohan could have been jailed up to three years, or fined, or both.

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