Gambling Debt Leads Malaysian Man in Singapore to Life of Crime
One man’s effort to get under one's skin out from his gaming debt led to to a greater extent disoblige for him inward Singapore. The Bahasa Melayu citizen robbed a stock inward an attempt to pluck upwards some quick cash, but it went horribly wrong.
He testament now make up for his poor judicial decision with pokey and caning.
One Bad Deed Leads to Another
Lim Cheng Siang was living in Singapore, according to The Straits Times, where he worked as a construction foreman. He enjoyed gambling a little too much, resulting inwards requests for loans from friends and loan sharks.
Lim apparently wasn’t a rattling prolific gambler, as he was never able-bodied to win enough to compensate sour the debts. He had racked upwardly SGD$50,000 (US$36,850) inward salient loans, with naught from the casinos to present for it. It was and then that he decided to jumping from the sauteing pan off into the fire.
The 46-year-old had a defrayal project inward place, but it certainly wasn’t favorable. He had to compensate SGD$5,000 (US$3,685) a month, despite only when earning SGD$2,900 (US$2,137) a month.
Desperate to receive out of the situation, Lim attacked a hock browse finally September. After feigning interest group inwards a patch of jewelry, he threatened the store’s employees with a stab and at last got forth with SGD$35,000 (US$25,791).
That left him shortsighted of the amount he requisite to covering the loans, so Lim did the only thing he thought would round things around. After returning to his job to shell out work on to the employees, he went to the Marina Bay Sands casino to gamble. His lack of proficiency, however, continued. Lim was, in one case again, inwards the hole.
Manhunt Finds Its Target
Lim was on the lam for II days before the law caught upward with him. He didn’t come a honest chore hiding, as they found him inward his rental apartment. The would-be gambler/criminal didn’t bother wearing gloves while committing the robbery, and police force were able to uncover his identity operator through his fingerprints.
When the police force corralled him, they discovered some of the money – SGD$4,474 (US$3,294), according to police – and the gold necklace he stole. The jewelry had a reported time value of SGD$10,000 (US$7,364).
With nowhere to run, he admitted his actions. He told police that he used some of the money to make up knock down his debts, but also gave some of it to his girlfriend.
Lim appeared before a judge this past times Tuesday to larn his fate. He testament expend ii and a half years behind bars and was to obtain “six strokes of the cane.” The jailhouse term began as of the day of his arrest, which agency he ease has near deuce years to go.
Things could feature been worse. The try could experience granted Lim the upper limit condemn of 10 years and sextet strokes of the cane, according to The Straits Times.