Jail, caning for man who held metal rod to cashier’s neck in failed robbery attempt
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On July 21, Harry Chia Yin Xiang, 26, was sentenced to two years and six months’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Follow topic:
- Harry Chia Yin Xiang committed offences including attempted robbery and harassment.
- Chia held a metal rod against a cashier's neck before he was told about CCTV cameras in the store.
- Chia also had a knuckleduster in his possession in March 2024.
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SINGAPORE – A man who tried to commit robbery at a convenience store by holding a metal rod against the cashier’s neck
On July 21, Harry Chia Yin Xiang, 26, was sentenced to two years and six months’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
He had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit robbery over the incident, which took place in April 2024. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of harassment and being in possession of a knuckleduster in separate incidents.
On April 14, 2024, Chia wanted to buy some cigarettes but realised he did not have enough money, deputy public prosecutors Tay Zhi Jie and Xavier Tan stated in court documents.
He called his grandmother for money, but she refused.
“The accused felt that his grandmother did not care for him, and (felt that) it would be better for him if he got arrested by the police,” the DPPs said.
At around 3am, he entered the convenience store in Choa Chu Kang and told the cashier he had stolen a bottle of green tea. The 53-year-old cashier replied that he would not take action against Chia if he returned the drink.
Chia left but returned soon after with a metal rod, which he held against the cashier’s neck.
He told the cashier to open a cash register as he wanted the money stored inside.
The cashier replied that it could be opened only with a purchase and told Chia that there were CCTV cameras in the store.
Chia finally left the store after the older man convinced him to do so, and the police were alerted soon after.
In a statement in April 2024, the police said officers managed to arrest Chia within two hours after the report was made.
In an unrelated case, the court heard that two auxiliary police officers attached to the National Environment Agency spotted Chia throwing a lit cigarette onto the ground near Tiong Bahru Plaza shopping mall at about 10.30am on Aug 18, 2023.
They approached him and asked for his identity card to check if he had been involved in other earlier offences.
One of the officers then printed out a “notice to attend court” and handed it to Chia. He took the notice from them before throwing it away in their presence.
When confronted, Chia flashed an obscene hand gesture at one of the officers, used vulgarities and left the premises.
Separately, in the early hours of March 14, 2024, Chia was found to be in possession of a knuckleduster in Yishun.
The DPPs said: “He told the police that he carried the knuckleduster as he was not on good terms with his colleagues, who were allegedly gang members.
“The accused had arranged to meet his colleagues at the incident location over a work dispute. By the time the police arrived, this meeting had not yet taken place.”
Chia also claimed he had bought the knuckleduster when he was 13 but could not remember where he purchased it.
