K
Kojiro Sasaki
Guest
Nov 12, 2010
Car washer robbed pregnant woman
By By Khushwant Singh
Muhammad Noh Mohammad Jais, 24, was sentenced to three years jail and 12 strokes of the cane. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
A CAR washer followed a pregnant woman all the way from the Simei MRT station into a lift at Block 146 Simei Street 2 and robbed her. As the lift climbed to the fifth floor, Muhammad Noh Mohammad Jais, 24, hit her and grabbed her handbag. On Friday, he pleaded guilty to robbing Ms Mardonna Retiro, 32, and was sentenced to three years jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
District Judge Ng Peng Hong imposed the minimum sentence for robbery at night after hearing that Muhammad Noh has an IQ of 42 and was considered moderately retarded. Investigations revealed that he hit Ms Retiro's abdomen twice but as she refused to let go of her handbag, he slapped her face and right hand. She ran out of the lift at the fifth floor. He descended to the ground level and fled.
The car washer kept the $350 in cash and threw away the bag, cell phone and personal documents into a bush near Kembangan MRT station. He was arrested the next day with about $27. The court was not told if Ms Retiro, who was seven-and-a-half months pregnant, had been hurt.
In a psychiatric examination in July, Muhammad Noh said that he committed robbery because he wanted to 'enjoy' and to go to Geylang to 'find girl'. Another charge of robbing a 31-year-old woman, who was eight months pregnant, in a lift at Bedok Reservoir Road a day earlier, was taken into consideration by the judge in sentencing.
