SINGAPORE - A former Aetos auxiliary police officer who had been sentenced to 16½ years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane for robbing a licensed moneylender in Jurong while armed with a loaded gun had his prison term reduced on Monday following his appeal.
Mahadi Muhamad Mukhtar, 40, had his prison term cut to 14 years after the Court of Appeal took into account the precedent case of Dave Teo, a full-time national serviceman who went missing with his SAR-21 rifle and several rounds of live ammunition in 2007.
The apex court also accepted that there was some “overlap” between two distinct charges faced by Mahadi, one for the unlawful carrying of his M85 Taurus service revolver and the other for robbery.
Defence counsel Mark Yeo had argued that the High Court judge who sentenced Mahadi in 2022 was wrong to have counted his possession of the gun as an aggravating factor in deciding his punishment for the robbery charge.
Mr Yeo argued that this resulted in Mahadi being punished twice for possession of the firearm, since he was separately being sentenced for carrying the loaded revolver.
On April 12, 2021, Mahadi, who owed money to loan sharks, carried out his plan to rob a licensed moneylender to solve his financial woes.
He selected OT Credit in Jurong Gateway Road as it was staffed by women and had been previously robbed.
Mahadi scouted the shop to ensure it was open before he reported for work and drew his revolver and ammunition.
In the afternoon, he walked into the shop and handed an employee a note, which stated that he had a gun in his pocket.
He admitted that he decided to copy the tactic used by David James Roach, a Canadian who wrote his demands in a note and robbed Standard Chartered Bank in 2016.
Mahadi made off with $24,877 in cash, which he used to pay off his debts and help a friend with similar debts.
He was arrested that night at the Aetos Complex in Corporation Drive and sacked the next day.
All but $5,200 of the sum taken from OT Credit was recovered by investigators.
In September 2022, Mahadi pleaded guilty to three charges – one each for unlawfully carrying a firearm, unlawfully possessing ammunition and robbery.
Two other charges over dealing with the proceeds of his crime were taken into consideration.
On Monday, Mr Yeo argued that Mahadi’s original sentence of 10 years’ jail and six strokes of the cane for the firearm charge was excessive.
He compared the case to that of Teo, who was jailed for nine years and two months and ordered to be caned 18 times.
The apex court – comprising Justices Judith Prakash, Tay Yong Kwang and Belinda Ang – concluded that nine years’ jail and six strokes of the cane was appropriate for Mahadi after balancing the various factors.
The court noted that Mahadi was entrusted with firearms in the course of duty, and had abused that trust for his own criminal purpose.
“However, we are cognisant that the appellant was unlawfully carrying the gun for slightly under two hours, while (Teo) took a rifle out and around for about 24 hours,” said the court.
On the other hand, the court noted that Teo was a young man with a psychiatric condition, while Mahadi was a mature man who acted only for financial gain.
As for the robbery charge, the court said a sentence of five years’ jail and six strokes of the cane was justified.
“In arriving at the appropriate sentence, we took into account the serious circumstance of the appellant being an auxiliary police officer who was employed to uphold law and order. Instead, he perverted it,” said the court.
