SINGAPORE – A man who initially helped a 93-year-old wheelchair-bound woman after she fell on the ground went on to steal her gold bracelet after spotting it around her right wrist.
Kee Chin Hwee, 51, pleaded guilty to a theft charge and was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail on Monday.
Shortly before the theft, the elderly woman’s Indonesian domestic helper, Ms Nisah Susila Wati, 27, was pushing the wheelchair in Yishun Central at around 2pm on April 14 when one of its wheels went off the pavement onto a grass patch.
State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Mohd Nasri Haron said that Madam Wang Peng Chui fell face first onto the pavement and Ms Nisah shouted for help when she tried but failed to lift her up.
Kee was on the opposite side of a road when he heard the maid’s cries.
He came forward to see what was going on and helped Madam Wang back onto the wheelchair with the help of two other passers-by.
Noticing that the victim had some injuries to her face, Ms Nisah pushed her to a nearby joint testing and vaccination centre to rest.
Kee, who followed the pair into the centre, then saw that the elderly woman was wearing a gold bracelet worth around $450.
The SPO said: “In the centre, the accused told Nisah to go to a nearby shop to buy some water and ointment for the victim’s facial injuries.
“He added that if she did not do so, she would run the risk of getting scolded by her employer. He offered to look after the victim while Nisah did so.”
Feeling scared, the maid left Madam Wang with Kee and went to a nearby shop.
As soon as Ms Nisah was out of sight, he held the victim’s right wrist and unhooked the bracelet.
Madam Wang asked him not to take it away, but he ignored her. He then placed the bracelet into his pouch and left.
Ms Nisah returned soon after and the victim told her about what had happened.
The maid told her employer about the theft and the police were alerted shortly before 3pm that day.
Officers managed to establish Kee’s identity, and he was arrested at his home on April 15.
The bracelet was also seized from his possession.
