Robber waited 7 hours before pouncing
CAUGHT: Police taking Lee Heong Chye away.
Jennifer Dhanaraj
The New Paper
Friday, Apr 04, 2014
SINGAPORE - Finding himself short of cash, he cooked up a plan to grab some.
Lee Heong Chye, 35, arrived at a hawker centre near a Geylang Bahru car park in the morning to look for someone he could rob.
He waited for about seven hours before he found his target - Ms Chung Yi Ren, who was returning to her parked car.
Lee then pointed a pen knife at her, took over her car and drove it as she sat in the front passenger seat.
He robbed her of items worth $2,251, including cash, an iPhone 5 and a watch. He also took her ATM cards.
Yesterday, the Malaysian admitted to armed robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, and possession and consumption of a controlled substance.
He was sentenced to 54 months' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
Lee, a contract worker for Koway Glass, will also be disqualified from driving for five years upon his release.
Court documents revealed that he went to the hawker centre at 9.15am on Dec 1 last year, carrying a pouch that contained a penknife and duct tape that he planned to use on his victim.
He made sure that he was in a position to observe the cars going into the carpark.
Around 4pm, Lee spotted Ms Chung, 33, drive in, park her car and leave. She returned 20 minutes later.
While she was placing her belongings on the front passenger seat, Lee opened the driver's door.
He pointed a penknife at her and instructed her to take the front passenger seat while he sat in the driver's seat.
Lee then pointed the penknife at her waist area and warned her not to make any noise.
As he rummaged through Ms Chung's handbag and fished out her car key, she tried to escape.
He swatted her hand away from the door handle and asked her to buckle the seat belt. Ms Chung refused at first but complied after he scolded her.
DRIVE OF TERROR
Lee asked Ms Chung to show him how to start the engine. He then started the car and drove off, with his right hand on the steering wheel and left hand keeping the penknife pointed at the victim's thigh area.
While driving, Lee coerced the victim into handing over all her cash.
Ms Chung removed the notes from her wallet and threw it onto his lap.
But she was determined to keep at least one of her possessions: she discreetly took off her watch and hid it under her lap.
Lee drove into a nearby carpark and parked the car.
He took Ms Chung's wallet and cards from her handbag, and asked for the PIN number to her cards, which she gave.
Then, Lee spotted the watch that she had hidden under her lap. He took it and tied the victim's wrists together with masking tape. He also taped her body, including her neck, to the seat.
When Lee asked Ms Chung to hand over her iPhone, she said she had forgotten where it was.
But he found it in her bag, and scolded her for lying to him. He then used a plastic bag to cover her wrist and left.
Lee proceeded to Kallang where he tried to withdraw money with Ms Chung's ATM cards but the PIN number she provided was incorrect.
He then went to Johor Baru and lost the cash he took from her on illegal jackpots the same day. Drugs were also found on him when he was arrested.
The victim did not sustain any injuries but was terrified, the court heard.
"Lee committed a very serious offence that was premeditated," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong.
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