Man Jailed After Going Around HDB Flats to Steal Lingerie

A quick PSA to our readers: stealing is bad.

As if you didn’t know that already.

Besides, in a place like Singapore where the laws’ eyes are everywhere, you don’t really have many places to run.

Even worse when you know it’s wrong and go and do it anyway, like the lingerie thief So Chik Hwee.

Man Jailed After Going Around HDB Flat to Steal Lingerie

The Malaysian man, 39, was arrested for going around a bunch of HDB flats to steal women’s underwear.

He was given seven months and one week’s worth of jail time on 20 Jan.

In total, So pleaded guilty to three charges of theft and housebreaking to commit theft, with another three charges considered in sentencing.

And this guy had an…unfortunate dedication to his craft, as it would be later found that he stole over 100 pairs of lingerie.

But how in the world did he manage to get so many?

Waited Outside A Flat

On 30 April 2019, So was hanging out at the 15th-floor corridor of a flat in Tanjong Pagar.

After around ten minutes of no activity, he decided to break in.

He slid the window open and stuck his hand in to open the main door from the inside.

Going through the kitchen and bedroom, he took all the lingerie found and packed it in a plastic bag.

However, a domestic worker and child came back before So could escape.

He bid his time by closing the bedroom door, waiting until he could leave without being seen through the front door.

A sad way to use such James Bond’s level of skill.

We only wished it stopped there.

Follow-Up Cases

The second scenario took place on 25 June 2019.

So took an elevator to the highest floor of an HDB and begin to walk down, checking if he could loot anything.

It was on the fifth floor when he saw two women leave their unit without locking the entrance.

He then stole around 40 pairs of undergarments worth around S$1,590.

Then on October 2020, he took another 11 undergarments that were hanging to dry at another block.

Thankfully, So was also caught later that month and was found with 60 bras and 44 panties.

And if you recall, 2020 was also when another bra thief was caught doing his disgusting “hobbies”.

One Institue of Mental Health doctor found that So had a fetishistic disorder from women’s underwear and specifically panties.

Still, the man admitted that he was aware of his actions and how wrong they were.

While the prosecutor asked for nine months, So’s lawyer asked for six months instead. The latter cited that he had no other convictions and that he lost his job from following this case.

So could have been jailed for up to 10 years for breaking in and stealing.

For theft in dwelling, he could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined, while he could have been jailed for up to three years and fined for theft.

Getting off with only seven months was extremely fortunate.

Featured Image: Doreen Salcher / Shutterstock.com