The young Canadian who was arrested in Bangkok in July of last year after reportedly pulling off a bank robbery in Singapore was sentenced to Thai jail this morning, ironically for not declaring the alleged stolen money to Thai Customs.
The Criminal Court handed down a 14-month jail term to David James Roach, 28, for money laundering and failure to declare the SGD30,450 (about THB750,000) cash he brought into Thailand on July 7, 2016.
Since Roach used the undeclared money to purchase goods in Thailand, including a laptop, they charged him with money laundering.
The sentence was commuted from two years and four months due to his confession. The money was seized, yet it was not revealed if the Thai authorities would return the money to the Singapore bank, Prachachart reported.
Roach escaped to Bangkok on the same day he allegedly robbed the Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore’s Holland Village and walked away with SGD30,000 cash (THB738,535) by simply handing a teller a note that demanded money.
The young Canadian was arrested at Boxpackers Hostel in Ratchathewi, just three days later.
In August 2016, Thailand rejected Singapore’s request to extradite Roach. The two countries do not have an extradition treaty, and Roach has been detained in Thai prison since.
“We denied it because we are not in the position to consider it,” said Amnat Chotchai, director-general of the international affairs department at the Attorney General’s Office. No further explanation was given.
