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Aetos officer arrested for suspected armed robbery with a gun, stole S$24,000 from store in Jurong

SINGAPORE — Armed with a gun, a 38-year-old auxiliary police officer walked into a shop along Jurong Gateway Road on Monday (April 12) and showed a staff member a note: “This is a robbery, don’t shout. I got gun in my pocket. Put all the money in the bag.”

Items seized by the police in an armed robbery that happened on April 12, 2021: Firearm (top left), the note a man gave to a shop employee (top right), and the bag the man was carrying as well as the stolen cash (bottom).

Items seized by the police in an armed robbery that happened on April 12, 2021: Firearm (top left), the note a man gave to a shop employee (top right), and the bag the man was carrying as well as the stolen cash (bottom).

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SINGAPORE — Armed with a gun, a 38-year-old auxiliary police officer walked into a shop along Jurong Gateway Road on Monday (April 12) and showed a staff member a note: “This is a robbery, don’t shout. I got gun in my pocket. Put all the money in the bag.”

After the staff member handed him cash amounting to more than S$24,000, he fled the scene, but was arrested five hours later.

During a media briefing on Wednesday, the police said that they were alerted to the incident at 3.55pm that day.

Using footage from police cameras and the shop’s closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs), they identified the man as an on-duty auxiliary police officer from Aetos.

Aetos said in a statement on Wednesday that the man performed general security duties at a secured facility.

The man had reported to work at Aetos’ headquarters along Corporation Drive in Jurong earlier on Monday and drawn his firearm before his deployment. 

He then changed out of his uniform and left Aetos' premises with his firearm without authorisation, and allegedly committed the robbery before reporting back to the headquarters to change back into his uniform and take the company van to his deployment location.

He is believed to have acted alone during the robbery, but police investigations showed that he deposited part of the stolen cash into the bank account of a friend, a 34-year-old woman. 

He also transferred the stolen cash to a few bank accounts to repay his debts to unlicensed moneylenders.

The woman, who had also allegedly facilitated the transfer of the stolen cash, was arrested for dishonestly receiving stolen property.

The auxiliary officer will be charged on Wednesday with unlawfully possessing arms or ammunition in the commission of a scheduled offence, while the woman will be charged on the same day with dishonestly receiving stolen property.

The police have arrested eight other people, aged between 16 and 48, for the same offence in connection to this case.

About S$17,500 of the stolen monies have been recovered by the police. Efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining amount and investigations continue.

Aetos said in its statement that it is extending its fullest cooperation to the authorities in their investigation and the company does not tolerate any form of criminal conduct by any of its employees, especially the unlawful use of firearms.

“We impose stringent regulations, safeguards and a strict code of conduct on all auxiliary police officers to ensure that they are fit for duty and to carry firearms,” it added. If found guilty, the man could face life imprisonment and no fewer than six strokes of the cane.   If found guilty, the woman could be jailed for up to five years or fined, or both.

Related topics

robbery crime police arrest Aetos auxiliary police officer

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