Twins Jailed for Staging a Break-in to Help Girlfriend Steal 57K from Family

You’ve heard of people stealing from their own family. 

You’ve might even heard of one helping their other half steal from their family.

But have you heard of one helping their brother’s girlfriend steal from her family?

That’s exactly what happened in one incident in July last year. 

Twin Brothers Helped Woman to Stage Break-in

The woman, Tiffany Tan Hwee Shuan, had gotten her boyfriend and his twin brother involved in her grand plan of fooling her family into thinking there had been a break-in. In reality, it was just to cover up her own tracks.

Then 21-year-old, Tan chose to execute her plan on the night of 11 July 2020, taking the chance when her brother and father were not home. 

Using the excuse of having supper with her and Oh Jia Kai, her boyfriend, Tan lured her mother out of their home. Meanwhile, Jia Kai’s twin, Oh Jia Cheng, waited near the flat. 

When she got into the car, Tan pretended to have accidentally left her mobile phone at home. When she went back to the flat under the guise of retrieving her phone, she took her brother’s safe—it contained a Rolex watch worth around S$11,500, two gold rings and cash, among other things. 

She also stole an envelope containing S$34,000 in cash from her father’s bag and a Louis Vuitton pouch, along with all the piggy banks from her brother’s room. 

Thereafter, Tan called Jia Cheng to help move the stolen items into a car that she had rented. 

When Tan’s brother and father noticed that their items had been stolen a few hours later, they called the police. In order to avoid suspicion, Tan lied to authorities and claimed that she had also lost S$3,000 from her bag too. 

Of the stolen proceeds, S$14,000 were spent on Tan’s birthday on 22 July last year. Oh Jia Kai had bought her a Louis Vuitton bag worth S$3,150, of which S$7,100 was paid in cash.

All Three Charged in Court  

When police camera footage was reviewed during the investigation, the three of them were caught as footage showed Oh Jia Cheng walking out of the lift at the Housing Development (HDB) block with two bulky bags.

Very obviously, the bags contained the stolen goods. Yes, not suspicious at all. 

Since then, the trio has pleaded guilty to one count of theft with common intention in April this year. 

25-year-old Oh Jia Kai was sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail, while Oh Jia Cheng was sentenced to 9 weeks’ jail. 

A probation suitability report had been called for Tan, who is 22-years-old this year. Probation is usually offered to offenders between the ages of 16 and 21, and does not result in a criminal record. 

According to The New Paper (TNP), the prosecution had originally asked for Tan to be sentenced to six months’ jail. However, as Tan had been 21-years-old at the time of the offence, the prosecution had revised its submissions.

Tan has since paid S$6,900 in restitution to her family. 

Similar Incidents 

While I don’t think there have been others who went to such great lengths just to steal from their own family, there have certainly been others who have similarly stolen from people they’re close with. 

In another case, instead of stealing from his family, one man decided to steal from his girlfriend. 

Or, well. I suppose now it’s “ex-girlfriend”.

The man, Marcus Kong Wei Keong, had moved in with his then-girlfriend, Felicia Lee Yen Pheng, under the guise of “tak[ing] care” of her. Ms Lee had been suffering from severe eczema then. 

Talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing. 

During that period, Kong stole and used her ATM and credit cards, all of which amounted to around S$52,000. He had also used her cards to withdraw money, and allegedly transferred funds from Ms Lee’s accounts to his own. 

Ms Lee had only found out about the unauthorised transactions when she had been unable to use her card to purchase a product, as her credit card limit had been reached. When she made further inquiries, she discovered that unauthorised transactions had been made. 

Kong had faced 32 counts of theft, and another 21 charges for offences under the Computer Misuse Act for the unauthorised fund transfers from Ms Lee’s accounts to his own. 

Now, it’s perfectly normal to have big dreams about getting rich—but at least go about it the right way. 

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