It took seven whole years, but justice was nonetheless served — an armed robber who stole over $5,000 in cash and items from a woman back in 2008 has since been jailed, The Straits Times reports.
50-year-old cabbie Chia Hwa Beng was sentenced to 33 months in jail and fined $30,000 on Friday after he was identified as the culprit behind the robbery that took place at Mount Elizabeth Hospital seven years ago. He had accidentally cut himself while fleeing the scene, leaving traces of his blood — but it was only last year that police took his DNA sample and confirmed the match.
He had robbed a 58-year-old woman on Aug 18, 2008 in the toilet of the hospital in Orchard Road. High on cannabis and desperately looking for ways to pay off his large debts, Chia followed the woman into the female toilet and waited outside her cubicle.
When she opened the door, he pushed her and demanded for her belongings. She pretended to faint, but he grabbed her handbag, containing $1,650 in cash. Seeing that he was armed with a 13cm-long knife, she also gave him her $3,000 Rolex watch.
While Chia demanded for her diamond ring as well, a nurse entered the toilet. He panicked and fled the scene with her handbag and watch, escaping in a cab.
He escaped police detection for years until 2014, when he was found to have helped a loan shark carry out fund transfers using his bank account in exchange for a lower interest rate on a loan.
In court, he pleaded guilty to one charged each of robbery and assisting an unlicensed moneylender. He escaped the mandatory six strokes of the cane for armed robbery as he is 50.
