3 more men charged over King Albert Park armed gang robbery involving over S$4.3 million
Five men, all Malaysians, have so far been charged in connection with an armed gang robbery at a residence along King Albert Park in Bukit Timah.
A view of the State Courts of Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: Three more men have been charged in court over their alleged roles in an armed gang robbery at a residence along King Albert Park in Bukit Timah last month that involved more than S$4.34 million (US$3.2 million) in cash, cryptocurrency and other valuables.
Malaysians Kartik Palaniappan, 31, Mohd Hamidon Ahmed, 47, and Mohd Hashim Ismail, 49, were all charged with armed gang robbery on Wednesday (May 8).
Two other Malaysians, Goh Boon Tong, 28, and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 32, were each handed a count of armed gang robbery last week.
According to their charge sheets, Kartik, Hamidon, Hashim, Goh and Tauffiq were with "several others" when they jointly robbed six victims of their valuables at a residence along King Albert Park in the early hours of Apr 18. The items stolen were worth about S$4,341,328.
The suspects purportedly carried out the robbery while armed with parangs and baseball bats, which are considered deadly weapons.
The offence of armed gang robbery carries a jail term of up to 20 years and up to 24 strokes of the cane.
Goh was handed a separate charge on Thursday unrelated to the armed gang robbery. He was charged with suspected involvement in knowingly receiving any gratification as a reward for providing services that will aid the prostitution of any person.
If found guilty of knowingly soliciting, receiving or agreeing to receive any gratification as an inducement or reward for providing any service, and who by providing that service does or will aid the prostitution of another person, being a woman or girl, Goh faces a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to S$100,000.
Who are the six victims and what did they lose?
1. A 29-year-old woman who was robbed of S$3,904,776.17 comprising:
- Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency amounting to US$2,638,238.41
- S$210,000 in cash
- 150,000 United Arab Emirates dirhams (S$55,500.90) in cash
- US$40,000 in cash
2. A 31-year-old man who was robbed of items with a total value of S$320,400 comprising:
- A red Richard Mille 35-02 watch worth S$320,000
- A Ferrari car key worth S$400
3. A 28-year-old man who was robbed of items with a total value of S$58,000 comprising:
- S$3,000 in cash
- A gold Rolex Daytona watch worth S$55,000
4. A 35-year-old man who was robbed of items with a total value of S$56,300 comprising:
- S$1,300 in cash
- A Rolex GMT Master Guinness Jubilee watch worth S$55,000
5. A 30-year-old man who was robbed of items with a total value of S$1,400 comprising:
- S$1,000 in cash
- A black Huawei GT4 watch worth S$400
6. A 33-year-old man who was robbed of a black Samsung Galaxy 6 smartwatch worth S$452
In a news release issued last week, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said officers established the identities of the men involved through ground enquiries and found that the group had fled to Malaysia shortly after they were alerted to the case.
With help from the Royal Malaysia Police, Goh and Tauffiq were arrested in Malaysia on Apr 27 and Apr 28 under two warrants of arrest issued by the State Courts in Singapore.
Both men were handed over to SPF on Apr 30.
Investigations are ongoing and SPF is working with the Royal Malaysia Police to locate the remaining suspects.
