SINGAPORE, Nov 30 — He was out on police bail for a theft offence.
During that time, Liu Aik Kang, 25, hatched a plan with his cousin and the cousin’s friend to pose as police officers to cheat an illegal sex worker and steal from her.
They made use of a Republic of Singapore Navy camp pass from the friend, who was a regular with the Navy at the time of the offence, to make it seem like a police pass.
Together, the men sought out their victim because they knew the person was in a vulnerable position, being an illegal worker.
Yesterday, Liu, who was unemployed, was sentenced to 14 months and two weeks’ jail for his offences.
He pleaded guilty last month to one count of theft and another count of cheating by personation.
The court heard in October that on May 16, Liu, together with his cousin Hu Zhihao, 26, entered an apartment along Jalan Sultan and made off with more than S$8,000 (RM24,448) worth of items, including laptops and cameras.
They sold the items for around S$1,300, with Liu pocketing at least half of the proceeds.
Liu surrendered himself to the police on May 24.
While out on police bail in June, Liu and Hu, formerly a regular in the Navy, as well as Hu’s friend Tan Shi Feng, 29, who was a Navy regular, conspired to cheat an illegal provider of sexual services by posing as police officers.
Deputy public prosecutor Foo Shi Hao said of the three men: “They specifically wanted to target such a victim as they thought that such a victim would not report them to the police, since (she) was also involved in illegal activities.”
Liu went online and came across a sex worker's advertisement.
He bought a SIM card — registered in his name — for the purposes of contacting the victim, to make arrangements for an appointment on June 23.
To make their set-up seem more realistic, the trio decided to use props such as a notepad, gloves, and even a video camera to film the proceedings as a “raid”.
They drove over to her Balestier Road unit and plotted out their respective roles. Tan handed a Navy camp pass to Liu, and instructed him to flash it when entering the unit.
Tan was to go in first, pretending to be a customer.
Foo said: “After making sure that no one was inside, he would then give a signal for Hu and Liu to enter (the) unit and declare themselves as policemen.”
At the sex worker’s unit, Tan saw that the coast was clear and let in Liu and Hu.
Liu flashed the Navy camp pass as if it was a police pass, while Hu held the video recorder.
The woman believed that they were police officers and allowed them to search the flat.
In all, the trio made off with S$15,000 in cash and an iPhone worth around S$600.
The men were arrested the next day, after a police report was made. No restitution has been made.
Tan and Hu will be dealt with by the courts separately.
For posing as a police officer, Liu could have been jailed up to five years, and/or fined. — TODAY
