A Singaporean man who was convicted for the theft of over SGD10,000 worth of milk powder over a period of eight months has been sentenced to four months in prison

Chan Yik Kee, 34 years old and a former insurance agent, admitted to three counts of theft for stealing three cans of toddler formula milk, worth SGD90 each, from a supermarket on March 05. He also admitted to stealing at least 170 cans of milk powder between June 2016 and March 2017.

Seven other theft charges were also considered during the sentencing.

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Deputy Public Prosecutor Du Xuan told the Straits Times that Chan entered the Giant supermarket at around noon on March 05 and stole the milk by sneaking a can out using his bag, repeating it three times. He was discovered via CCTV and was arrested on March 20 with 170 milk cans in his possession.

Chan admitted that he stole the milk to sell it for cash to meet his family’s needs. However, he wasn’t able to sell much, and was forced to stash most of the milk at his home. In his plea, he expressed remorse for the crime, saying he had to support his two young daughters.

Prior to committing the offence, he worked as an insurance agent, but he resigned due to not meeting his sales quota.

District Judge May Mesenas sentenced Chan to four months in prison, backdated to March 22.


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