By Leong Wee Keat, TODAY | Posted:
17 December 2010 0855 hrs
SINGAPORE: It was a particularly "devious" theft, a
judge said on Thursday, in the case of a man who made multiple cash
withdrawals of S$1,000 each time he pinched his girlfriend's ATM
card from her wallet to gamble away at Resorts World Sentosa.
In all, 38-year-old Chua Yen Hui managed to steal S$19,000 from his
girlfriend before he was found out.
He was on Thursday jailed for six months.
The court heard that Chua, who was unemployed, always placed the
card back into its original slot without his girlfriend's
knowledge.
The theft was discovered when his girlfriend of two years realised
on August 15 that her card was missing.
The 32-year-old teacher checked her online banking account and
found that S$19,000 had been withdrawn between June and
August.
She confronted Chua, who admitted to the theft.
Pleading for leniency, Chua said he had acted out of "a moment of
folly" and asked District Judge Jasbendar Kaur for a light sentence
so that he could take care of his aged parents.
Chua also promised to return the stolen money.
But the judge noted that Chua had stolen on numerous occasions just
to gamble. In response, Chua claimed he was looking for more money
for his father's medical bills.
But the judge countered that the stolen money was never used for
any medical expenses.
Chua could have been jailed up to three years and fined for each
theft charge.
