Jail for ex-actor who trespassed on homes and stole lingerie

A former part-time actor who had been stealing women's undergarments from homes since 2018 continued doing so during the circuit breaker period and despite being out on bail for the same offence.

Lee Chee Kin, 39, trespassed on the backyard of a house on April 15 - a week after circuit breaker measures to stem the spread of Covid-19 took effect - with the intention of adding to his tally.

The Singaporean had trespassed on the same property on five earlier occasions, between November 2018 and May last year, stealing nearly 30 pieces of undergarments worth at least $160 in total.

He was sentenced on Monday to 23 weeks in jail after pleading guilty last month to 10 charges, including criminal trespass, theft and an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.

Lee had been stealing lingerie for his own sexual gratification since 2018, trespassing on various properties to commit similar acts of crime.

The locations of all affected homes were redacted from court documents. In total, he admitted to unlawfully entering different premises on at least 30 occasions. He was caught on July 12 last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kwang Jia Min had said: "He would select bras and panties to steal based on their appearance... he would climb over the back gate of the target unit and enter the (laundry or backyard areas) where bras and panties were hanging and steal them.

"He would then leave the premises the way he entered."

While out on bail following his arrest last year, Lee left his home in the wee hours of April 15 to return to one of his victims' homes.

An occupant alerted the police and officers later arrested him.

In an unrelated case, Lee found a debit card at Ang Mo Kio MRT station on May 23 last year and used it to buy nearly $91 worth of items via the payWave function.

The victim made a police report on May 28 last year. Lee has since made full restitution.

On Monday, the DPP urged the court to sentence Lee to at least six months in jail, stressing that he had trespassed on multiple properties to steal women's undergarments.

Defence lawyer Roche Eng pleaded for between three and five months' jail. He told the court that his client, who had appeared in productions shown on Tamil TV channel Vasantham, is "looking for judicial mercy" and is remorseful.

For each criminal trespass charge, Lee could have been jailed for up to three months and fined up to $500.