Two Singaporean teens, aged between 16 and 17, were arrested for breaking into a Tampines coffee shop and escaping with S$400 cash.
In a statement, police officials said on Monday, April 9 that the two teenagers were suspected in a case of housebreaking and theft in the night in a coffee shop, located in Tampines Street 11. The police were informed about the incident on Saturday, April 7 at around 11 am.
Bedok Police Division officers have succeeded to locate both the alleged accused of this incident by using police cameras. The 17-year-old suspect was arrested from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 on Sunday, and the other accused, aged 16, was held from Simei Avenue on Monday.
In Singapore, housebreaking offences are governed by the penal code sections 441 to 462.
Under Section 446 states that whoever commits house-breaking after 7 p.m. and before 7 a.m., is said to commit "house-breaking by night".
Section 457 says whoever commits house-trespass or housebreaking in the night, in order to commit any offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 5 years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the offence intended to be committed is theft, the term of the imprisonment shall be not less than 2 years and not more than 14 years.
The law says that any convicted person of an offence under section 454, 455, 457 or 458, shall be punished with caning in addition to the punishment prescribed for that offence. The punishment for theft can include imprisonment which may extend to 3 years, a fine, or both.
Police have advised the property owners to follow some steps to avoid such crimes:
- Secure all doors, roller shutters, windows and other openings with good quality grills and close-shackled padlocks when leaving the premises unattended.
- Be careful while keeping large sums of cash in unattended on the premises.
- Install a burglar alarm and CCTV to cover the access points into the premises. Ensure that they are tested periodically and in good working condition.
