If there's a modern equivalent to the idiom 'like taking candy from a baby', this would be it — a man has been sent to jail for taking mobile phones from schoolchildren, and in one case, assaulted a kid who chased after him.
49-year-old Tan Teck Choot carried out his misdeeds upon children from Nov 2012 to Jan 2014, tricking and coercing six kids in Jurong to hand over their phones to him and taking off with them, The Straits Times reports.
In Feb 2013, he had approached a 10-year-old girl outside her primary school along Corporation Drive and asked to borrow her iPhone 4 to make calls. Once he got got the phone in his hand, he walked away with it. The poor girl followed him for a few blocks but lost sight of the man.
Two days later, he pulled off a similar stunt on a 12-year-old boy near Chin Bee Road. This time, Tan had to cause a commotion as the boy sought help from passers-by, and the man pretended that he was the father. The boy managed to retrieve his phone from Tan's pocket during the clamour, and the man left the area soon after.
His crimes against innocent kids came to an end in January last year. Tan stopped an 11-year-old boy near Pioneer MRT station, and asked him for directions before fiercely demanding his Samsung Galaxy S3 phone. The frightened by handed over the phone but pursued Tan, and even got the help of 21-year-old passerby Muhammad Danial Anwar, who called the police and chased Tan as well. Another 12-year-old boy joined in the pursuit around Jurong West Street 65. Tan had already threw down the phone and tried to run away, but the boy managed to pull him back to stop him. The man then punched the boy on the chin and ran off.
Tan and his pursuers continued to run until Pioneer Road North, and the criminal tried to escape on a public bus. Failing which, he ran off to a void deck along Jurong West Street 91, and attempted to bribe the 12-year-old kid with $70 to let him go. He failed, and was arrested by the police.
In court yesterday, it was reported that Tan appeared distraught and occasionally made whimpering noises. He was sentenced to jail for 13 weeks.
Photo: Adam Cohn via Flickr
If there's a modern equivalent to the idiom 'like taking candy from a baby', this would be it — a man has been sent to jail for taking mobile phones from schoolchildren, and in one case, assaulted a kid who chased after him.
49-year-old Tan Teck Choot carried out his misdeeds upon children from Nov 2012 to Jan 2014, tricking and coercing six kids in Jurong to hand over their phones to him and taking off with them, The Straits Times reports.
In Feb 2013, he had approached a 10-year-old girl outside her primary school along Corporation Drive and asked to borrow her iPhone 4 to make calls. Once he got got the phone in his hand, he walked away with it. The poor girl followed him for a few blocks but lost sight of the man.
Two days later, he pulled off a similar stunt on a 12-year-old boy near Chin Bee Road. This time, Tan had to cause a commotion as the boy sought help from passers-by, and the man pretended that he was the father. The boy managed to retrieve his phone from Tan's pocket during the clamour, and the man left the area soon after.
His crimes against innocent kids came to an end in January last year. Tan stopped an 11-year-old boy near Pioneer MRT station, and asked him for directions before fiercely demanding his Samsung Galaxy S3 phone. The frightened by handed over the phone but pursued Tan, and even got the help of 21-year-old passerby Muhammad Danial Anwar, who called the police and chased Tan as well. Another 12-year-old boy joined in the pursuit around Jurong West Street 65. Tan had already threw down the phone and tried to run away, but the boy managed to pull him back to stop him. The man then punched the boy on the chin and ran off.
Tan and his pursuers continued to run until Pioneer Road North, and the criminal tried to escape on a public bus. Failing which, he ran off to a void deck along Jurong West Street 91, and attempted to bribe the 12-year-old kid with $70 to let him go. He failed, and was arrested by the police.
In court yesterday, it was reported that Tan appeared distraught and occasionally made whimpering noises. He was sentenced to jail for 13 weeks.
Photo: Adam Cohn via Flickr