SINGAPORE - A 44-year-old car salesman broke into his former girlfriend's home and stole 16 luxury handbags and branded accessories, worth a total of $99,420, a court heard on Thursday (April 14).
He wanted to anger his former lover, so that she would contact him and they would have an opportunity to talk.
Rowan Wong Tin Heng was jailed for four months after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of theft in a home. He initially faced a stiffer charge of house-breaking to commit theft.
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Items that Rowan Wong Tin Heng stole from his ex-girlfriend:
- Purple Hermes Birkin handbag, $15,000
- Orange Hermes Birkin handbag, $15,000
- Black Hermes Birkin handbag, $8,500
- Blue Hermes Birkin handbag, $16,500
- Brown Hermes Kelly handbag, $10,200
- Pink Hermes Kelly handbag, $17,000
- Pink Hermes Evelyn handbag, $4,100
- Pink Hermes CDC bracelet, $3,150
- Black Hermes CDC bracelet, $2,800
- Purple Hermes CDC bracelet, $1,200
- Green Hermes CDC bracelet, $1,600
- Brown Hermes bracelet, $870
- Red Hermes Kelly Dog Extreme bracelet, $1,200
- Black Hermes Rodeo charm, $800
- Pink Hermes Rodeo charm, $600
- Purple Hermes Rodeo charm, $900
A district court heard that some time last year, Wong, a sales consultant at Komoco Motors, ended his relationship with Ms Hoe Huey Miin, 43, an assistant director at Recruit Express, because she was having an affair.
On Aug 5, at about 11.10am, he went to her condominium home in Mohamed Sultan Road, while no one was in.
He entered the premises using duplicate access cards, which he had made while they were still together, and went straight to a storage area where she kept all her handbags and accessories.
He took four Hermes Birkin handbags, two Hermes Kelly handbags, one Hermes Evelyn handbag, six Hermes bracelets and three Hermes Rodeo charms.
The handbags were worth between $4,100 and $17,000, the bracelets between $870 and $3,150, and the charms $600 and $900.
Wong then drove home with the items, and kept them in his room.
Later that day, he threw a pink Hermes Evelyn handbag worth $4,100 at Concorde Hotel's rubbish disposal area.
The next week, he passed all the other items he had stolen to a friend for safekeeping. Wong lied having bought all the items for Ms Hoe while they were together, and said he was only taking them back because they had broken up.
Wong also told his friend that he was staying with his wife, and did not want her to find out about the items.
Ms Hoe had bought all her handbags and accessories from boutique stores and resellers.
Wong was arrested on Aug 12, having been captured on closed-circuit television cameras entering Ms Hoe's condominium.
The prosecution asked for five to six months' jail, while defence lawyer Anthony Lim asked for a jail term of three to four months.
The lawyer pointed out that the couple "broke up on rather acrimonious terms after (Ms Hoe) started seeing someone else".
"The whole incident only arose because the accused found it hard to let go of the romantic relationship that the victim and he used to share," Mr Lim said.
"The accused was not in need of money, but took the items from the premises in hope that the victim would contact him to collect the items from him."
The lawyer also submitted a letter from Ms Hoe to the court, saying she had forgiven him.
Wong has made restitution of $4,000 to Ms Hoe for the handbag that he threw away. Ms Hoe got back the remaining items.
For committing theft in a home, Wong could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.
The maximum punishment for house-breaking to commit theft, during the day, is 10 years' jail.
