SINGAPORE, July 30 — Faced with financial difficulties, a man stole 13 sets of jewellery worth a total of more than S$43,300 (RM148,997) from his mother, and pawned them for cash.

Over the next couple of years, Michael Raj, who was working as a taxi driver, also stole luxury watches from three passengers who had boarded his cab and fallen asleep. The watches had a combined value of about S$200,000.

Today, Michael was sentenced to 17 months’ jail after pleading guilty to four charges, including one count of theft in dwelling and three counts of theft.

Another three charges were taken into consideration in sentencing.

Stole S$43,000 worth of jewellery from mother

Between 2016 and 2018, Michael lived with his mother, wife, daughter, and two of his sisters.

His late sister would buy jewellery for their mother, who would keep these valuables in a cupboard drawer in the master bedroom.

Michael’s mother would then lock the drawer and keep the key to this in another drawer within the same cupboard.

Michael knew where his mother kept her jewellery, and also where she kept the key.

Sometime in late 2018, Michael moved to a new home with his wife and daughter.

Between May and June 2021, while facing financial difficulties, Michael stole 13 sets of jewellery from his mother’s drawer. They were worth S$43,392.50 in total.

Michael then pawned this jewellery at various pawnshops, and used the cash he obtained to pay off his debts.

On July 5 that year, his mother discovered that several items of her jewellery were missing from her drawer.

Two days later, on July 7, she went to Michael’s home with her daughter to confront him about the missing jewellery.

She lodged a police report about a year later on July 16, 2022.

Michael’s lawyer, Wee Hong Shern from Ong & Co, told the court today that Michael had worked out a payment plan that began in January 2022 to make restitution to his mother.

To date, Michael has made partial restitution of about S$3,000.

His mother has also since redeemed five of the 13 sets of stolen jewellery which were of greater sentimental value to her.

Stole luxury watches from taxi passengers

At about 5am on September 2, 2022, a 33-year-old man flagged down and boarded Michael’s taxi to head home.

The man, who was heavily intoxicated, fell asleep in the cab.

Noticing that the man was still asleep after the taxi had arrived at his destination, Michael reached for the man’s wrist and removed a Rolex Daytona watch that he was wearing, before waking him up.

The watch is valued at S$45,000.

At noon the same day, the man realised that he could not find his Rolex watch and lodged a police report two days later on September 4.

About seven weeks later, at about 5.30am on October 28, 2022, a 44-year-old man boarded Michael’s taxi to head home. The man was intoxicated and likewise fell asleep on the ride.

Sometime during the journey, Michael saw that the man was asleep.

He then removed a Rolex Daytona watch — valued at S$67,288 — that the man was wearing.

Around 1pm that day, the man realised that his watch was missing and lodged a police report.

The court heard that Michael had sold the two men’s watches to a third party for cash, as he was facing financial difficulties. To date, both men’s Rolex Daytona watches have not been recovered.

In a third incident on June 15 last year, Michael stole a Rolex Oysterflex watch — valued at S$88,000 — from a passenger who had similarly fallen asleep in Michael’s cab.

Later that day, Michael sold the stolen Rolex Oysterflex watch for S$10,000 cash.

The watch was recovered and returned to the man.

Wee said that Michael was in a “desperate financial situation” as he had been in two accidents prior.

He added that Michael then “made a mistake” of borrowing from unlicensed moneylenders, and the debt he incurred from this quickly “snowballed”.

Wee sought 15 months’ jail for his client, noting that Michael had made partial restitution of S$3,000 to one of the victims — his mother — even before investigations had begun.

He said that Michael was a first-time offender, and was worried about his wife and daughter.

“I hope the court will believe he only committed these (offences) out of desperate financial need, and he would not do it again.”

For committing theft in dwelling, Michael could have been jailed for up to seven years, and fined.

For each charge of theft, Michael could have been jailed for up to three years, fined, or both. — TODAY