Man to be charged with stealing Budget 2020 grocery vouchers from letterboxes in Marine Terrace

SINGAPORE — A 46-year-old man will be charged on Friday (Oct 30) with stealing Budget 2020 grocery vouchers from letterboxes in Marine Terrace.

In a media release on Thursday, the police said that they received a report on Oct 14 of vouchers having been stolen from letterboxes at a housing block along Marine Terrace.

Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from closed-circuit television cameras, officers from Bedok Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on Thursday.

The suspect is believed to be involved in similar cases of theft that happened in the vicinity.

If convicted of theft, he may be jailed up to three years or fined, or both.

There have been a series of such grocery voucher thefts recently, after the Government issued these vouchers to low-income households living in one- and two-room flats.

Earlier this month, the police arrested four men and three women for allegedly stealing these vouchers from letterboxes at various public housing blocks around Singapore. 

The police said at the time that the cases appeared to be unrelated and opportunistic in nature.

The vouchers, announced in the Unity Budget in February, were mailed to 150,000 Singaporeans aged 21 and above this year who live in selected Housing and Development Board flats.

Recipients were to each get grocery vouchers worth S$150 in October, another S$150 worth of vouchers in December and vouchers valued at S$100 in October next year.