A former employee of Outram Park Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh was sentenced to eight months’ jail on Tuesday (10 November 2026) for stealing S$34,897 worth of gold jewellery from two former colleagues at a staff dormitory.
Deva Seelan Sati Veloo, a 38-year-old Malaysian, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft. The court also took a criminal trespass charge into consideration when sentencing him.
He Took a Ferry to Batam Before the Theft Was Discovered
The restaurant rented a flat at Block 107 Spottiswoode Park Road to house its staff. Deva had lived there with the two men and moved out after resigning in December 2024.
On 28 March 2026, surveillance footage showed Deva taking the lift up from the ground floor at 1:43pm and returning downstairs at 2pm. He stole the jewellery during that visit. At 2:43pm, he took a ferry from the Singapore Cruise Centre to Batam.
At about 3pm, one of the men came home and noticed the padlock on the flat’s metal gate was missing. He checked his room and found that two gold bracelets and a gold ring worth about S$21,084 in total were gone.
He called his flatmate, who rushed back and found that a gold necklace worth about S$13,813 had been stolen from his room. Police received a report at 4:11pm that day.
Police Arrested Him When He Returned to Singapore
Police arrested Deva on 24 April when he returned from Batam.
At sentencing, the prosecution said police had been unable to recover the jewellery and Deva had yet to repay either man. Both men attended the hearing. Stomp reported that the judge did not order Deva to compensate them and that they were told they could pursue compensation through a civil claim.
