A 16-year-old boy who committed a series of thefts that include stealing from a mosque’s donation box, as well as stealing 2 e-bikes, was sentenced on Wednesday (10 May) to 18 months of probation and 80 hours of community service.
He had earlier pleaded guilty on 29 March to three charges related to theft as well as one charge of housebreaking.
9 other charges were considered during his sentencing, including charges related to theft, trespassing, mischief and misappropriation.
Background
The boy, identified in court documents at A1, was emboldened after stealing from a mosque along Delta Avenue, Masjid Kampong Delta, in the early hours of 13 June 2022, and decided to sneak into the mosque again for the third night in a row with another 17-year-old boy,
The two then climbed over the walls of the compound at about 3.30am and headed to the second floor where they tried to pry open the donation boxes with their screwdriver and spanner but failed.
They later found another donation box that was chained to the wall on the ground floor near the back of the mosque, which they also failed to pry open, before breaking it from its chains and throwing it over the wall, taking it with them as they left the premises.
The boys eventually managed to break open the box at a carpark nearby before splitting the money inside among themselves, which was about $74.
The youths stole a total of about $274 over three nights, according to court documents.
The crimes later came to light when a volunteer at the mosque discovered the mosque had been broken into later that morning, and the manager of the mosque then lodged a police report at about 10.30am.
The manager of the mosque told the police that they had no suspects in mind, and that the mosque had been closed over the weekend, on 11 and 12 June.
The Singapore Police Force also received a police report about a lost e-bike at the same time, from a mutual friend of the two boys, which was worth about $1,000.
Police investigations later revealed that after the two boys had broken into the mosque, A1 told his friend that he wanted to steal their mutual friend’s e-bike, which he knew was parked along the corridor outside his home.
Then at about 7.20am, A1 proceeded to steal the e-bike with his friend keeping a lookout, and rode the stolen bike to the friend’s home where they spray painted it black to change its appearance.
The stolen bike was never recovered by the authorities, with the two boys claiming that they abandoned it.
The boys later stole another e-bike worth about $1,240 and stripped it down to it’s frame, and it was later seized by the police, who eventually tracked A1 down and arrested him on 15 June.
No restitution has been made to the victims.