Man jailed for stealing basin tap from Woodlands police station to use in his home toilet

SINGAPORE — A 50-year-old man was sentenced to three months’ jail on Thursday (Aug 15), after pleading guilty to stealing a basin tap from a bathroom at the police division headquarters in Woodlands.

Seah Kian Li committed the offence on March 1 this year, but the police station’s cleaning supervisor discovered that the tap was missing only about a month later.

The court heard that Seah was at the station that evening to post bail for his brother.

While he was using the toilet on the third storey, he noticed that the basin tap was loose and realised it would be suitable for use with the toilet basin in his own home.

He then unscrewed the tap — valued at S$171.20 — from the sink with his bare hands and took it home with him.

On March 28, while the cleaning supervisor was making her rounds, she noticed that the tap was missing and reported it to the station’s facility manager. When contractors told the manager that they had not taken the tap, they informed the divisional logistics officer, Mr Lee Giem Chong, of the matter.

From closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, Mr Lee saw Seah unscrewing and taking the tap. After pinning down his identity through further investigations, Mr Lee made a police report at the Woodlands West Neighbourhood Police Centre on April 16.

The CCTV camera was not in the toilet but was facing its entrance, and Seah was captured in its footage because he had left the door of the toilet open, the Attorney-General's Chambers said.

Seah’s home was raided that same day. Authorities then discovered that the tap was affixed to his home toilet basin.

The tap was seized and Seah was subsequently arrested.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Foo Shi Hao told the court that Seah has a string of previous offences, dating back to 1996 when he was convicted of property-related offences. 

He was also dealt with in 2002 on drug-related charges, housebreaking by night in 2006, and driving while intoxicated in 2008.

Seah gave his own mitigation plea through a Chinese interpreter. He pleaded for a light sentence, saying he has been looking after his unemployed younger brother since their mother died.

In response, the prosecutor said there was “nothing exceptional” about the plea.

Seah could have been jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$2,000.