Everyone would have felt the urge to reenact scenes from our favourite action movies, but most of us almost never actually act on them.
But for 18-year-old Jacob Seow, his urges proved too powerful, and got the better of the young man.
Last August, he reportedly robbed a 7-Eleven store in Sengkang knowing there would only be one staff working that night. He pleaded guilty to one charge of robbery on Friday (21 Feb).
Source
When asked about his motivations, Jacob reportedly told the court that he wanted to mimic scenes from movies he watched.
Before the robbery on 3 August 2019, Seow allegedly armed himself with a fruit knife and left his house at around 12.30am.
He then went to the 7-Eleven outlet located at Block 403A Fernvale Lane, which was at that time, manned by a lone 21-year-old worker.
Seow subsequently pointed the knife at the store attendant when the latter went to the counter. The 18-year-old then ordered him to put money and cigarettes into a bag he placed on the counter.
However, the victim could not open the cash register. Seow then stole 6 packets of cigarettes which cost between $12.60 and $14.30. Since he was hungry at the time, he stole a cheeseburger as well.
Source
After his rampage, Seow attempted to strangle the victim so the latter would feel faint and would be unable to call the police immediately.
However, Seow stopped himself because he was afraid passers-by would enter the shop and catch him red-handed.
Surprisingly, Seow thanked the victim for letting him steal.
He changed his clothes after the robbery, ate the stolen burger, and smoked one of the cigarettes.
While he wanted to rob another 7-Eleven store for cash, he did not do so as he did not have new clothes to change into.
Seow’s defence lawyer Mr Ganapathy asked for a probation report because Seow was young. In addition, this was the first time he committed a crime.
According to him, Seow is extremely remorseful and even wrote a letter of apology to the victim,
Our client has realised the gravity of his actions and completely understand… [he] put the victim under considerable fear…
He was also angry that he brought shame to his family with his rash act.
When asked why he wanted to imitate robbery scenes from movies, he did not comment, only sometimes saying that it was an “evil” thing to do.
The judge called for both probation and reformative training report.
Seow, who is currently serving his National Service, will be remanded. He will return to court for sentencing a week later 28 Feb.
We hope Seow learns from his mistakes and will not give in to such urges again, no matter how powerful they are.
While doing so may bring a brief moment of joy, the repercussions for it are serious and permanent.
Featured image adapted from Coconuts Singapore and is for illustration purposes only.
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This could be your ticket to getting into your dream school.
An unusual 'theft' indeed.