Jail, caning for man who took part in 2014 robbery involving over $624,000

He was part of a group that robbed the manager of a money-changing business in 2014, and made off with more than $624,000 in cash.

David Mark Mari, now 41, and eight other men left Singapore for Malaysia after committing the heist that took place in the presence of their victim's two-year-old son.

David, who was paid $7,000 for taking part in the robbery, was later caught in Malaysia and sent back to Singapore on July 28 last year.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to seven years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to a robbery charge.

Most of his accomplices, who were then between 29 and 44 years old, were dealt with in court earlier. All of them were given jail terms with caning.

They are: Ravi Sandhira Sagaran, Vekneswaran Sekaran, Tachana Moorthy Peromal, Saravanak Kumar Karunanithy, Selvam Karupaya and Annadurai Raman.

The court case involving an eighth man, Baskaran Balakrishnan, now 39, is still pending. A ninth man, Sivaraam Monion, who was 29 then, is still at large.

Eight of the men are Malaysians, while Annadurai was a Singapore permanent resident at the time.

The victim was a 35-year-old Singapore permanent resident.

His father-in-law, who lived in Aljunied Crescent, was the director of the money-changing firm where he worked.

The court heard that some time around April 2014, some of the men jointly planned to commit robbery and make off with cash transported by the firm's couriers. Annadurai roped David in five months later.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yong Ngee said: "The robbers also wore balaclavas - face masks which they had previously prepared - to conceal their faces during the robbery.

"They also placed plasters over their fingertips so as not to leave traces of their fingerprints behind during the robbery."

The victim and his son left their home at around midnight on Nov 4, 2014, and drove to Changi Airport to pick up two of the company's couriers.

One of them was carrying a bag containing more than $624,000. Court documents do not state if the pair had flown in with the monies.

The bag was placed in the boot of the car and the victim drove the couriers to their homes in Bedok.

He was on his way to his father-in-law's home to store the cash when the robbers ambushed him at an open-air carpark at around 12.50am on Nov 5.

The victim had just reversed his vehicle into a parking space when David stopped his car perpendicular to it, trapping the victim.

The terrified victim locked all the car doors. But one of the robbers broke a window on the driver's side of the vehicle and demanded that he exit his vehicle. One of the robbers also threatened in Tamil: "You want me to kill your son?"

The DPP said: "One of the robbers then reached into the victim's car to unlock and open its door. (He) also removed the keys from the ignition."

One of the robbers grabbed the victim by his collar, dragged him out of the car and punched him once.

"The victim was then restrained outside his car... All (this) while, the victim's then two-year-old son was seated in the front passenger seat," added the DPP.

The robbers placed the bag containing the money in David's car before fleeing the scene.

An eyewitness from a nearby block of flats saw the heist and alerted the police.

The robbers fled to Malaysia, but most of them were arrested and brought back to Singapore.

The court heard that most of the monies have not been recovered.