Goh Lee Yin chalked up quite a reputation as a serial shoplifter, having been dragged to court and subsequently jailed multiple times for theft.
The 36-year-old was due back in court yet again on Tuesday (this time for allegedly stealing over $30,000 worth of branded items in 2015), but sadly, she was found dead at the foot of Block 405B along Fernvale Lane in Sengkang the night before.
Diagnosed with kleptomania years ago, the former engineer was facing nine charges of theft and fraudulent possession, The New Paper reports. She was accused of stealing clothing from high-end brands such as Kenzo, Louis Vuitton and Prada, as well as an oven from Breville.
Her high-profile history of shoplifting dated as far back as 2005, when she was given probation due to her disorder: the inability to refrain from the urge for stealing items without regard for need or profit. It was a historic sentencing — Chief Justice Yong Aung How set aside her two and a half month jail term and gave her a two-year probation period instead.
Unfortunately, she stole again while on probation in 2006, shoplifting luxury handbags.
In 2011, she was jailed for six weeks and received a $4,000 fine after being convicted for nicking a Chanel Bag, a Gucci dress and an Emporio Armani sweater.
Less than three months after her release, she went on a crime spree again, tricking two women into handing over four Hermès handbags worth $97,00 in total. She received a nine-month jail sentence after she pleaded guilty.
A wake for Goh was held on Wednesday in Buangkok Green. She left behind a husband and a baby girl — the woman became a mother in January last year. Psychiatrists who handled her case have repeatedly informed reporters in the past that Goh was actually a pleasant, wonderful person.
“If you know her well, you’ll find that she’s a kind, gentle person who cares for people,” said her psychiatrist, Dr Tan Chue Tin, to The New Paper in 2011.
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