A former member Singapore Malay National Organisation (PKMS)'s Supreme Executive Council was convicted of theft of $20,000 of watches and jewellery and sentenced to seven months in jail by a district court on Friday.

Sulaiman A. Gani, 58, was found guilty of stealing the watches from the opposition party's then president Ali Asjadi. The five-day trial ended last December.

Sulaiman's accomplices Azhar Ali, 46, the head of the party's youth wing then, and Putrajaya Umar, 31, who was Mr Ali's godbrother told the court that at about 2am on Sept 11, 2011, they together with Sulaiman, took the safe from the victim's office. Then on the rooftop, they broke it open and stole eight watches and five gold rings, two of which were set with gems.

In his testimony, Sulaiman said that he did not participate in the theft and that the Rolex watch and a Seiko watch given to him by Azhar were payment for a loan. However, District Judge Eddy Tham found his evidence lacking in credibility.

In passing sentence, said that although there were some discrepancies in the testimony of his two accomplices of the theft in October 2011, these were not major and could be explained by lapses in memory and different perceptions of events.

The accomplices had pleaded guilty last year and Azhar was jailed for seven months and Putrajaya for six months. Sulaiman is appealing and out on a $10,000 bail.