A man was sentenced to jail for stealing about $11,000 from 10 donation boxes at a Geylang coffee shop to repay his drug debts.<\/p>\n
Manohar Thirunavukkarasu, 29, was sentenced to four months and four weeks\u2019 jail. He faced two charges of theft and one charge under the Private Security Industry Act.<\/p>\n
He pleaded guilty to two charges, while the remaining charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.<\/p>\n
Stole about $11k from donation boxes to repay drug debts<\/h2>\n
According to court documents, the stall was <\/strong>Kwan Tzi Cuisine, located in the Kim San Leng coffee shop at Block 134 Geylang<\/a> East Avenue 1.<\/p>\n The owner of the stall, Choo Hong Eng, collected the donations by placing 10 metal donation<\/a> boxes on a metal rack in the coffee shop, which were locked using a single cable tie.<\/p>\n The money collected was intended for various organisations, including Da Zhong Hospital, Zhong Hua Hospital, and Ren Ci Hospital.<\/p>\n On the night of June 13, a stall employee forgot to bring a trolley containing the 10 donation boxes into the coffee shop before closing for the day.<\/p>\n At about 1.48am on June 14, Manohar happened to pass by the coffee shop and spotted the boxes left outside, prompting him to steal them.<\/p>\n He retrieved a nearby blue storage container used to store dirty cutlery. As the donation boxes were heavy, he placed the container on a trolley before returning to collect the boxes and load them into it.<\/p>\n PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Manohar then wheeled the trolley along Sims Avenue in the direction of Aljunied MRT.<\/p>\n After breaking open the donation boxes, he took about $11,000 in cash before discarding the trolley, container and boxes.<\/p>\n He claimed to have spent about $1,000 on personal expenses before his arrest, while using the remaining $10,000 to repay his drug debts to unknown persons.<\/p>\n The stall\u2019s owner discovered the theft and made a police report at about 5.32am that day.<\/p>\n Manohar was arrested on June 30. At the time, $166 in cash and small amounts of foreign currencies were found in his possession.<\/p>\n The stolen $11,000 was not recovered, and no restitution has been made.<\/p>\n On June 30 at about 2.52am, Manohar was lying down on a staircase at the School of the Arts (SOTA) while using his mobile phone when a security guard on patrol spotted him.<\/p>\n The guard asked him to leave, but Manohar became agitated and repeatedly hurled vulgarities at him.<\/p>\n He uttered the words, \u201cWho the f*** you think you are. Shut up and f*** you.\u201d<\/p>\n When Manohar ignored the warnings and moved closer to the guard, the latter called the police as he felt intimidated and harassed.<\/p>\n Upon arriving and checking Manohar\u2019s identity, the officers discovered that he was wanted for stealing the donation boxes and arrested him.<\/p>\n Investigations revealed that Manohar had been sleeping in the same area at SOTA for several days. He would rest on the stairs overnight before leaving for work at about 5.30am.<\/p>\n In an interview, stall owner Choo told Shin Min Daily News<\/a> that she was relieved that the thief had finally been brought to justice, allowing her to explain the situation to the organisations she worked with.<\/p>\n She said representatives from some of the organisations had collected donations from several boxes shortly before the theft, helping to prevent even greater losses.<\/p>\n Choo added that she no longer places donation boxes outside her stall. The space previously occupied by the 10 boxes is now used to store cutlery.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to be able to raise some money for the charitable organisations<\/a>. It is a pity that these donations have stopped,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Have something to say? Join in!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Explore more on these topics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n See something interesting? Contribute<\/a> your story to us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\nMan slept overnight at SOTA campus, swore at security guard<\/h2>\n
Stall owner no longer places donation boxes outside stall<\/h2>\n
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