S
San Zang
Guest
Nov 18, 2010
Serial motorcycle thief jailed
By Khushwant Singh
Muhammad Yusri Ramli, 21, was fined a total of $1,400 and disqualified for driving all vehicles for five years after his release from prison. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
HE pleaded guilty on Oct 21 to stealing two motorcycles and committing two traffic offences and pleaded with District Judge Eddy Tham to postpone the sentencing as he 'needed time to settle personal matters.' But Muhammad Yusri Ramli, 21, went to steal another motorcycle on Nov 5. Jailing him for three years for theft on Thursday, judge Tham had harsh words for the unemployed man who claimed he took the motorcycle 'just for a joy-ride.' Said the judge: 'Taking someone's property without their consent is theft. And settling personal matters does not include stealing a motorcycle for a joy-ride.
Warning the offender that he will continue to go in and out of prison if he did not change, the judge said: 'I suggest that while in jail, you use the time to better yourself and take advantage of the training so you can find a job when you come out.' He initially stole motorcycles from car parks and abandoned them elsewhere. After he was arrested for the earlier thefts in July and September and hauled to court, he would only steal and use the motorcycle for a few hours before returning it to the same spot he took it from.
Yusri was arrested in an ambush on Nov 4 after a resident at Jurong West Street 65, reported to police that someone was riding his motorcycle without his consent. He also did not have a valid licence to ride the motorcycles and neither was he covered by insurance. For these offences, he was fined a total of $1,400 and disqualified for driving all vehicles for five years after his release from prison.
