NTU student entered Alexandra condos & stole 4 bicycles worth over S$1,000 each, sold them for S$900
In need of cash, a Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student stole four bicycles from two condominiums along Alexandra Road and later sold them on Carousell.
He was jailed for 12 weeks for his crimes, according to a Magistrate’s Court judgement released on 27 March.
Source: Google Maps
NTU student enters Alexandra condos to scout for bicycles
The court heard that on 15 Sept 2024, Loh Sijing Aloysius entered the premises of two condos: Ascentia Sky Condominium and Alexis Condominium, both along Alexandra Road.
He was aged 25 and an NTU undergraduate at the time.
While it was not disclosed how he gained entry, his motive was to scout for bicycles that he could steal and subsequently sell for profit.
NTU student steals 3 bicycles from Ascentia Sky
The next day (16 Sept 2024), Loh returned to Ascentia Sky at about 12.30pm.
Over a period of 1.5 hours, he entered the condo three times by either tailgating a resident or entering when the gate was left unlocked.
Each time, he stole a bicycle and rode it to the public carpark of Alexis, then left it there.
Source: Google Maps
He stole three bicycles in total — one of them was a Trek Verve 3 Disc Gen 4 bicycle valued at about S$1,550.
The other two were also worth more than S$1,000 each.
NTU student steals 4th bicycle from Alexis
Sometime before 4pm on the same day, Loh stole a fourth bicycle from Alexis.
It was a 2021 Trek Dual Sports 2 Hybrid bicycle valued at about S$1,000.
Although the bike had a lock near the rear wheel, it was not secured and was already set to its passcode. Loh thus opened the lock and threw it away.
He also took a bicycle child seat of unknown value.
Bicycles sold for S$900 over Carousell
Loh subsequently took photos of the four bicycles and listed them on Carousell, using the same account that he had previously used to sell bicycles.
Source: Trek Bikes. Photo for illustration purposes only.
At about 4pm on the same day, a buyer expressed interest in all four bicycles.
The buyer then parked his lorry along the main road and helped Loh transport the bicycles through the carpark and into the lorry.
Loh was paid just S$900 in the transaction.
His actions were caught on CCTV, with footage even recording him and the buyer transporting the bicycles to the lorry.
He was arrested on 16 Oct 2024.
Accused pleads guilty to 3 charges
Appearing in court last week, Loh faced five charges — one of criminal trespass and four of theft.
He pleaded guilty to three of them: one for trespass and two of the theft charges.
He also admitted to the other two charges, which were taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing.
Prosecution calls for up to 4 months’ jail on each theft charge
The prosecution called for Loh to be sentenced to three to four months in prison on each theft charge, citing the fact that the bicycles were valued at “not insignificant sums”.
As he had sold them immediately, they could not be recovered.
The prosecution also maintained that Loh should be jailed for three to four weeks for trespassing, as he had the intent to commit theft, trespassed on three occasions, and the acts were premeditated and deliberate.
Accused came from humble background: Defence
However, the defence said in mitigation that Loh came from a humble family background, with low-earning parents who had limited education.
He had worked part-time since the age of 17 to alleviate his family’s financial burden.
Thus, he was “motivated by his financial pressures” and acted “out of character” when he stole the bicycles, his lawyers said, adding:
The method of offending was not sophisticated and he did not attempt to conceal his acts.
After his arrest, Loh cooperated fully with the authorities and indicated that he would plead guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Noting his clean record previously, the defence also noted that he was genuinely remorseful and had made full restitution to the victims.
Defence says jail would ‘jeopardise’ the accused’s career
Loh has since graduated from NTU and is now working for a multinational aerospace and defence corporation, his lawyers said.
He has performed well at his job and was selected to receive overseas training.
Thus, the defence called for “a calibrated combination of community-based sentences” instead of a custodial sentence, maintaining:
A custodial sentence would significantly disrupt Mr Loh’s employment and potentially jeopardise his long-term career. Such consequences would be disproportionate to the nature of his offences.
At a later hearing, the defence subsequently withdrew its submission for community orders to be imposed and suggested an aggregate sentence of not more than seven weeks.
Accused sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail
The judge finally sentenced Loh to a total of 12 weeks’ jail — six weeks each for the two theft charges.
He was sentenced to three weeks’ jail for the trespass charge, which will run concurrently.
While the judge said that community orders would be inappropriate in this case, he had taken into account Loh’s guilty plea, his restitution to the victims and his lack of prior offences.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Google Maps.
