Six Malaysian men have been jailed for their roles in an armed robbery at a Good Class Bungalow in King Albert Park that netted about S$4.9 million in cash, cryptocurrency and valuables.
The men were sentenced on Monday, 14 September, after pleading guilty to charges including armed gang robbery and moving the proceeds of crime out of Singapore.
Their jail terms ranged from seven years and eight months to 12 years and 11 months. Five of the men were also sentenced to 24 strokes of the cane.
Robbery Was Planned Around High-Stakes Poker Games
The plan began after Wong Chi Shan, 35, and Goh Boon Tong, 30, learnt in 2023 that high-stakes poker games were regularly held at the King Albert Park house.
The games could involve hundreds of thousands of dollars, with some payments settled using cryptocurrency.
Wong and Goh also observed that the property’s gate and main door were left unlocked while the games were taking place.
Several months later, they decided to rob the house.
Goh contacted Mohd Hamidon Ahmed, 49, who ran a private security business and debt collection services. Hamidon was offered RM1.5 million, or about S$467,000, to assemble a team that could overpower the people inside.
The group prepared black clothing, ski masks, gloves, duct tape and cable ties.
On the night of 17 April 2024, Hamidon and his team entered Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint. They later met Wong and Goh in Geylang, where they were briefed on the target and given three machetes and two baseball bats.
Group Entered House After 2am
Shortly after 2am on 18 April, seven men entered the house while a poker game was taking place.
Some carried machetes while others had baseball bats.
The people inside were ordered to surrender their phones before being restrained. The robbers searched the property, took money from a safe and stole luxury watches.
Wong and Goh also checked the victims’ phones for cryptocurrency applications and transferred cryptocurrency to a wallet controlled by the group.
The stolen property ultimately came to about S$4.9 million. It included roughly S$3.6 million in cryptocurrency, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The victims later freed themselves and contacted the police. Four suffered minor wrist injuries from being restrained, according to The Straits Times.
Robbers Fled Through 2 Different Checkpoints
The group split up after the robbery.
Wong and Goh left Singapore through Tuas Checkpoint, while the others crossed into Malaysia through Woodlands Checkpoint. The weapons and clothing used in the robbery were discarded after they crossed the border.
The Singapore Police Force subsequently worked with the Royal Malaysia Police to track down the suspects. Six were arrested in Malaysia between April and November 2024 and returned to Singapore.
Police have recovered only about S$1.69 million of the S$4.9 million stolen. About S$3.21 million remains unrecovered.
A seventh suspect, 33-year-old Malaysian Muhammad Yusuf Kassim, remains at large and is believed to have travelled from Malaysia to Thailand.
2 Planners Get Nearly 13 Years’ Jail Each
Wong and Goh received the heaviest sentences. Each was jailed for 12 years and 11 months, given 24 strokes of the cane and fined S$4,000.
Hamidon was sentenced to 10 years and six months’ jail and 24 strokes.
Kartik Palaniappan, 34, and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 34, were each jailed for seven years and eight months and given 24 strokes.
Mohd Hashim Ismail, 51, was sentenced to eight years and eight months’ jail. He was not caned because of his age.
The prosecution described the case as one of Singapore’s highest-value robberies in nominal terms.
For armed gang robbery, an offender can be jailed for between five and 20 years and is liable to 24 strokes of the cane.
