Jail, caning for fourth man in gang that robbed two Bangladeshis running illegal business

SINGAPORE - Muhammad Ridzuan Mohammad Yusof, who was part of a gang that robbed two Bangladeshi men in Little India in 2017, was sentenced to eight years, 18 months and one week's jail on Friday (April 22).

The 33-year-old also got an additional enhanced sentence of 55 days and a fine of $2,000, and was ordered to be given 12 strokes of the cane.

Ridzuan is among five Singaporeans who robbed the Bangladeshis, who were running an illegal remittance business, on Dec 11, 2017. Three of the perpetrators - Nor Mohamad Azril Sajali,Shanker Maghalingam and Juraimi Jupri - were dealt with in court earlier.

A warrant of arrest was issued on Friday for the fifth man - Thava Kumaran Ramamutty, 37 - who has absconded.

Following a trial, Thava and Ridzuan were both convicted on Dec 24 last year of one count each of gang robbery and housebreaking.

The two Bangladeshis - Sikder Sujan and Alamgir Md - had been dealt with in court for running an unlicensed remittance business.

In previous proceedings, the court heard that Thava had learnt that some Bangladeshis were running an illegal remittance business.

He met his accomplices in early December 2017 to discuss how they could "take the money" from their victims.

In its submissions then, the prosecution said Sujan and Alamgir had collected money from their compatriots to be sent to recipients in Bangladesh.

Deputy public prosecutors Dwayne Lum and Kwang Jia Min said the duo received $300,000 from fellow Bangladeshis on Dec 10, 2017.

Sujan and Alamgir were in their room on the second floor of a Rowell Road property in Little India when the robbers arrived in a rented car at around 3am on Dec 11.

Sujan told the court during the trial that two of the men entered the room while another two stood outside.

Sujan testified that Thava, claiming that his group was from the Criminal Investigation Department, told the Bangladeshis to remain still. Ridzuan later entered the room.

The DPPs added: "As Sujan genuinely believed that they were from the police, he complied with Thava's instructions by handing over his identification documents... Ridzuan then searched the room and recovered cash amounting to $300,000."

The court heard that the robbers then left in a car.

Sujan alerted the authorities after realising that the men were not police officers.

On Dec 17 that year, Shanker unlawfully left Singapore for Malaysia on a motorised boat from Changi. Thava entered Malaysia 12 days later on a 30-day social visit pass.

The Malaysian police detained the pair in Johor on April 12, 2018, and they were later handed over to the Singapore police.

The DPPs said: "Ridzuan's defence (was)... that he was engaged by Shanker to move a safe box from (the Rowell Road property) to another place... Thava's defence... (was) that he was given a job by a Bangladeshi national known to him as 'Munshir' and the job involved the moving of a safe box from (the property) to a location in MacPherson."

The court heard that Thava had claimed that he was on his phone trying to contact Munshir when Juraimi, Azril and Ridzuan hatched the robbery plan without his knowledge.

The prosecutors said the defences of Ridzuan and Thava were "unbelievable and should be rejected".

Delivering his verdict last year, the judge said: "It was simply not credible that the three robbers would involve two innocents - namely Ridzuan and Thava - who were not clued in or involved in the planning of the robbery and had no inkling that a robbery or anything illegal would be committed."

For housebreaking by night, Ridzuan could have been jailed for up to three years and fined. For gang robbery of five or more people, he could have been jailed for between five and 20 years, and given at least 12 strokes of the cane.