A 36 year-old man was swiftly arrested within 2 hours after robbing a taxi-driver due in no small part to the vigilance of two public-spirited members of the public.

On 12 Jul 2010 at about 8.30pm, a 56 year-old taxi-driver was robbed while he was resting in his taxi parked at an open-air carpark at Telok Blangah Rise. The suspect had assaulted the taxi-driver and made away with his cash amouting to about $60, a cash card, and a car key. Upon being notified, officers from Central Police Division responded promptly to the scene but the suspect had already fled by then.

Nonetheless, the officers did not give up and continued to look for the suspect. On the same day at about 10.10pm, Police were informed by two members of the public that a man was seen behaving suspiciously at the open-air carpark of Telok Blangah Crescent. One of the callers, who was residing in the said neighbourhood, even went to Radin Mas NPP and led the Police to the carpark where the man was seen behaving suspiciously and looking into the parked cars. The officers quickly detained the suspect and found him with three EZ-Link cards, three cash cards, cash about $150 and a bunch of keys which were believed to have been stolen. The suspect is also believed to be the same culprit who had robbed the taxi-driver earlier as subsequent investigations revealed that some of these items belonged to the said taxi-driver.

The suspect will be charged in Court on 14 Jul 2010 for Robbery with Hurt under Section 394 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries a jail term of between five to 20 years and not less than 12 strokes of cane if convicted. In addition, he will face charges for Loitering with Intent to Commit Theft from Vehicle and Fraudulent Possession of Property under Section 27(2) and 35(1) respectively of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, Chapter 184, which carry a jail term of not more than one year and/or $3000 fine. A Court order will also be sought for the suspect to be remanded for further investigations.

Commander of Central Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Tan Hung Hooi, commended the two vigilant members of public for their public spiritedness. He added, “The swift arrest was made possible because of the tip-off from the two public-spirited individuals. This reinforces the importance of a strong Police-community partnership in keeping our neighbourhoods safe.”