Guess it’s true — you can never plan for the weather, even when it involves crime. This man obviously did not do a quick rain check on the day’s forecast before he attempted a robbery.
Patrick Sim Lung Ann, 36, has since been sentenced to jail and caning for attempted robbery — even though it was botched, thanks to mother nature, TODAY reports.
While trying to rob a Rolex watch worth $3,200 from a 59-year-old woman in February, the man was jolted by the sound of thunder and quickly fled the scene. But in an unfortunate Cinderella-esque twist, he left his slippers behind on the wet ground. Sim later admitted that he had made the wrong choice (duh, slippers are always the wrong choice) of footwear while attempting his daylight robbery.
Sim had planned to attempt a robbery as far back as last December while he was working as a fruit stall assistant — he even crafted a makeshift knife using bamboo, which he sharpened and sprayed with red paint.
It was when he lost his job the following month that Sim decided to actually carry out the robbery. On Feb 8, he loitered along Hillview Road, where he spotted the 59-year-old victim, who was alone and walking to a bus stop nearby at around 5:30pm. Sim moved towards her and brandished his 6cm-long DIY knife, bringing it to her neck and muttering, “This is a robbery. Give me your watch.”
The victim, frightened and stunned, went weak on her knees and had to squat, which caused her to suffer a minor cut when her thumb brushed against the blade. But the most frightened party of ‘em all was none other than the robber himself, who flinched upon hearing a sudden clap of thunder and made a run for it, leaving his slippers behind on the wet floor.
Unluckily for Sim, the slippers provided nice, easy evidence for the authorities to wrap the case up swiftly. Spared her watch and her life (praise be to Gaia), the victim sought help at the Glendale Park condominium nearby where a security supervisor called the police.
Sim fled to Malaysia through Woodlands Checkpoint that same day, and a police gazette was issued for his arrest. It didn’t stop him from coming back though — when he re-entered Singapore on April 22, he was promptly arrested by the police. When you’re on the run, stay on the run, they say.
Unrepresented in court yesterday, he pleaded for leniency, claiming he had a young family and needed to support his children. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and six strokes of the cane. Sim could have been jailed up to seven years for attempted robbery, which also carries a minimum penalty of six strokes of the cane — though it’d probably be punishment enough to have him stand outside during a thunderstorm.
