SINGAPORE – A man accused of stealing jewellery worth more than $12,000 from a pawnshop is said to have committed the offence while on a remission order.

As part of the order, Muhammad Danial Sharuddin Muhammad Noor, who had committed undisclosed offences in the past, was supposed to stay out of trouble from July 9, 2022, to Jan 20, 2024.

Instead, he allegedly stole a gold chain and a gold ring from a Maxi-Cash outlet in Queen Street near Rochor Road on Saturday.

Danial, 21, was handed a theft charge on Monday.

In a statement on Sunday, police said that officers were alerted to the case at the pawnshop shortly before 2pm on Saturday.

According to preliminary investigations, a man had asked to try on a few pieces of jewellery, before making off with a gold ring and a gold chain.

A police spokesperson said: “The staff from the pawnshop gave chase to the man when he allegedly walked out... with the unpaid jewellery, but lost sight of him.”

Through ground inquiries and with the help of images from police cameras (PolCams), officers from the Central Police Division established the man’s identity and arrested him within eight hours.

The jewellery was recovered and seized as case exhibits.

Danial’s case has been adjourned to Nov 10.

If convicted of theft, he can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.

There are more than 90,000 PolCams islandwide and the Singapore Police Force plans to install more than 200,000 of these by the mid-2030s.

The new cameras will be set up at places including commercial, recreational and entertainment districts.

Existing PolCams will also be upgraded and have better camera resolution.

The cameras have helped solve some 7,500 cases since their installation began in 2012, said the police in an earlier statement.

A public perception survey that the police conducted in 2021 showed that 91 per cent of respondents supported having cameras in public areas to deter crime.