Yesterday (14 Feb), four technicians in Singapore received jail terms for stealing 100 litres of petrol from Police Coast Guard (PCG) patrol craft.
On four occasions last July, they topped up their personal vehicles with stolen petrol from the patrol vessels.
The group also had to compensate for approximately S$183 worth of petrol.
In court, the four men were revealed to be service technicians employed by Lungteh Shipbuilding. PCG had contracted the company to conduct maintenance works on patrol craft berthed at its Lim Chu Kang Regional Base.
Source: Southerly Designs. For illustration purposes only.
Their job scopes involved cleaning and servicing the craft’s engines and generators. To do so, they needed to use a manual pneumatic fluid extractor to remove dirty oil residue from the engines.
While performing their duties, they noticed that the craft operated on petrol.
With the intention of filling up their personal vehicles, they colluded to siphon the petrol using the fluid extractor.
On 3 Jul 2023, the group siphoned 40 litres of petrol from the patrol craft, storing 30 litres in a jerry can and the remaining 10 litres in a fluid extractor.
Source: Aik Chin Hin Hardware & Machinery. For illustration purposes only.
Thereafter, they hid the petrol at their company’s workshop which was just off the PCG base, reports The Straits Times (ST).
They then filled up the fuel tanks of their vehicles, which included a car and three motorcycles.
The men carried out similar siphoning activities on three separate days in the same month.
On 2 Aug 2023, a branch manager of their company realised that petrol was stored within one of the fluid extractors, prompting him to lodge a police report.
Yesterday (14 Feb), the four men pleaded guilty in court and were handed individual jail terms:
They were also ordered to provide compensation for the stolen petrol, which amounted to S$$183.04.
As their act of stealing involved government property, Deputy Public Prosecutor Suriya Prakash asserted that it is viewed more severely. Moreover, they had also breached the trust given to them in handling the PCG craft.
All four men pleaded for leniency during the hearing.
For stealing from a vessel, one can be handed a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force and is for illustration purposes only.
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