Man Who Tried Robbing Boon Lay Pawn Shop With Fake Bomb & Fake Gun Gets 3.5 Years In Jail; 18 Strokes

He actually had a pretty solid plan. 

In primary school, my classmates and I used to make fake weapons using leftover foolscap papers. We would spend time learning how to fold new weapons.

Never would I have thought someone would actually use fake weapons to rob a pawn shop.

But to be fair, the weapons were well crafted and looked realistic – so real that people thought they were real.

Construction Worker Tried To Rob Pawn Shop 

Keyword: Tried

Former construction worker Sheikh Md Razan, 30, attempted to rob a pawn shop in July last year.

The Boon Lay ValueMax Pawn Shop had about $72,000 in cash and more than $15 million worth of jewellery.

He threatened the employees of Boon Lay ValueMax pawn shop that he would blow up the shop by pointing to a fake bomb belt and waving his fake gun around.

However, none of the workers obeyed his orders. The employees either hid or were frozen with fear.

Sheikh’s Reaction In That Moment:

He knew his plan was falling apart. So, he removed his fake bomb belt from his waist and placed it on a counter before fleeing the scene.

Employees Thought It Was Real 

Sheikh had made his fake weapons a day before.

According to TODAYonline, he had planned to make the weapons to stir up fear and had spent around two-and-a-half hours constructing the fake gun and bomb belt.

He made the bomb belt using a belt and a battery-operated toy dog with lights. The electrical components of the two LED lights, wires and battery holder from the toy dog were cut and taped onto the belt.

As for the gun, Sheikh stuck a metal pipe to the barrel of a permanent ink marker and wrapped it with tape before spraying it with black paint.

Points for creativity. He must have gotten an A for arts and craft. 

His fake weapons did incite fear in the end as the outlet’s manager thought that the “bomb belt” was real, grabbed it and flung it towards an open space outside the shop before calling the police.

How I imagined the poor, terrified manager to throw:

Changed His Look After Running Away 

Prior to the robbery, Razan had planned to wear a pink turban to disguise himself after noticing how his roommate’s face was partially covered when he wore his turban.

He also wore the pink turban in an attempt to throw the police off his trail by appearing to be of a different ethnic group.

Preetipls won’t be pleased with this.

After he fled the scene, he shaved his beard and moustache to alter his appearance.

In addition to changing his looks, he also took four different buses and a taxi back home.

See? He actually had it all planned out. 

Caught After Five Days 

Sheikh sent the police out on a nationwide man-hunt for five days.

He was only caught after a resident in Jurong West found the backpack that Sheikh had hidden behind his potted plants. The backpack had a pink turban which was a crucial piece of evidence.

Arrested And Sentenced 

The robber was finally arrested at Sultan Mosque on 1 August 2018.

Sheikh’s lawyer, Siraj Shaik Aziz, who is a pro-bono lawyer with the Law Society Singapore, argued that no added sentence should be given to deter him from re-offending as he will be deported back to Bangladesh after he serves his sentence.

He would not be allowed to return to Singapore and hence he is unlikely to re-offend.

In the end, Sheikh was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ jail with 18 strokes of the cane.

Factors Considered For Sentencing 

District Judge Teo Guan Kee took the “sophistication” of the attempted robbery into consideration for the sentence.

“Sophisticated” because he had taken several steps to ensure the success of the robbery- from the disguise, imitation arms to scouting various locations before settling on the Boon Lay pawn shop.

District Public Prosecutor (DPP) had actually urged the Judge to sentence him to three-and-a-half years’ jail with 18 strokes of the cane as his actions had caused considerable disruption and worry to the public.

Boon Lay MRT Station and Jurong Point had to be cordoned off and shut down for more than two hours as the authorities dealt with the threat from the fake bomb belt.

Admitted To Other Crimes 

Other than the attempted robbery, Sheikh also admitted to overstaying in Singapore for more than 200 days and being in possession of a forged work permit.

He also used another fake work permit to seek illegal employment here.

He was desperate and had resorted to robbery to try to solve his financial problems.

In total, Sheikh pleaded guilty to five charges: one charge of attempted arm robbery, exhibiting imitation arms and unlawfully remaining in Singapore, as well as two charges relating to a forged work permit.

Offenders convicted of attempting to commit armed robbery can be jailed up to seven years and caned.