In need of cash to repay both licensed and unlicensed moneylenders, a jewellery store sales executive stole 20 gold plates worth over $124,000 and $20,000 in cash from his then employer.
Jacky Tan Jun Jia, 34, who had a gambling addiction, was employed at Chow Tai Fook Jewellery at Bugis Junction shopping mall when he committed the offence in June 2024. He is no longer working there. On March 14, he was sentenced to 20 months’ jail after pleading guilty to a theft charge.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Claire Poh said that due to his online gambling addiction, Tan began borrowing money from licensed and unlicensed moneylenders in 2023. On June 18, 2024, around 9am, he reported for work and noticed a safe inside the store’s office was open. About an hour later, he told colleagues he was unwell and asked to perform cashier duties inside the office.
At around 3pm, while performing stock taking, his colleagues advised him to see a doctor. Instead, Tan hatched a plan to steal the cash and valuables. At around 5.20pm, he removed 20 gold plates and $20,000 from the safe, placing them into his pockets and bag. CCTV footage recorded the offence. He then left the store.
Tan took a taxi to a pawnshop in Bedok North and pawned 10 gold plates, receiving nearly $48,000. He claimed he used around $68,000 to repay loans and handed the remaining 10 gold plates to an unlicensed moneylender known only as “Ah Wee”. He also gave his wife $3,000 in cash and deposited $4,000 into his own bank account.
His colleagues discovered the missing gold plates and cash at around 7.30pm, and the store’s assistant manager alerted the police. Shortly before 9pm, Tan confessed via text message to the assistant manager, then switched off his mobile phone and disposed of it behind a lorry near Block 216 Bedok North Road. He also told his brother about the crime.
Tan surrendered himself to police and was arrested at around 10.15pm that day. Officers seized $3,000 in cash from him and recovered the pawned gold plates from the pawnshop.
Defence lawyers Sarbrinder Singh and Nicholas Say from Sanders Law pleaded for up to 18 months’ jail, arguing that Tan had acted under pressure due to harassment and threats from illegal moneylenders. They said he was extremely remorseful and had fully cooperated with authorities.
On March 14, his bail was set at $20,000. Tan is expected to begin serving his sentence on March 28.
