Father in S’pore steals 55 claw machine toys for kids who couldn’t get any, sentenced to 1-week jail

father claw machine toys

Father sentenced to 1-week jail for stealing 55 claw machine toys for children

A father was sentenced to one week and three days in jail for stealing 55 toys from a claw machine in Sembawang Shopping Centre after his children couldn’t win any prizes.

On the evening of 6 Jan 2023, 39-year-old Fazil (name transliterated from Chinese) took his three children to the shopping centre.

At around 10pm, the four entered a claw machine shop to try their luck at winning a prize.

However, the father claimed the children later complained that after playing several rounds on different claw machines, they hadn’t won any prizes.

After observing the machine’s mechanics, Fazil decided to take matters into his own hands.

Stole 55 toys worth around S$300 in total

Fazil lifted the claw machine with his hands, then tilted it backwards, causing many toys inside it to fall out of the collection slot.

The group collected the fallen toys and then repeated the process, taking 55 toys with a total worth of around S$300.

father claw machine toys

Source: Julienne Chen on Flickr. For illustrative purposes only.

Fazil placed the stolen toys into a plastic bag in the shopping cart and left the store with his children.

At around 10.55pm, the store’s executive director arrived and found the claw machine empty.

After reviewing the camera footage, the director discovered Fazil’s theft and reported it to the police.

The police identified Fazil on 10 Jan and recovered the stolen toys, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Committed another act of theft at clothing store

Fazil committed another theft in February 2024 when he went to Causeway Point and shoplifted at a clothing store.

At that time, he took a green shirt and a brown shirt into the fitting room but came out holding only the brown shirt.

At the counter, he told the staff that he had previously purchased the brown shirt and only paid S$14.90 for the green shirt.

However, Fazil concealed the brown shirt in his bag after removing its RFID tag to avoid triggering the store’s alarm system

On Monday (2 Dec), the judge sentenced the defendant to one week and three days in jail for charges of fraud.

Also read: 3 boys tilt Labubu claw machine in Yishun, steal S$300 worth of dolls

3 boys tilt Labubu claw machine in Yishun, steal S$300 worth of dolls

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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.

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