Aetos officer accused of armed robbery with a gun

Monday afternoon was like any other day at work for Mrs Sumaiya Sultana.

What the customer service officer did not know while busy working was that a man with a gun was allegedly robbing the licensed moneylending company next door.

Mrs Sumaiya, 29, who works for a money remittance company, only found that out when the police asked her for footage from her shop's closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to investigate a robbery.

"I didn't hear anything so I didn't even know there was a robbery. The police asked if I saw anything but I didn't," she told The New Paper yesterday.

An Aetos officer was charged yesterday under the Arms Offences Act for allegedly robbing a moneylending firm of more than $24,000 in cash while armed with a revolver.

This is the first time in 15 years a gun was used in an armed robbery in Singapore. In 2006, there was an armed robbery involving a firearm at a 4-D outlet at Sun Plaza Shopping Centre in Sembawang.

In a statement yesterday, the police said preliminary investigations revealed that on Monday at about 3.30pm, Mahadi Muhamad Mukhtar, 38, had approached the staff at OT Creditand showed them a handwritten note that said: "This is a robbery, don't shout. I got gun in my pocket. Put all the money in the bag."

The staff purportedly handed him the cash and he fled.

Mahadi, who is believed to have acted alone, was allegedly carrying a firearm during the robbery but did not show it to the staff, the police said.

This is not the first time OT Credit has been allegedly targeted by armed robbers. Last November,the company was robbed of $48,000 in cash.

In the latest case, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Police Intelligence Department and Clementi Police Division, through investigations aided by images from police cameras and shop CCTV cameras, and with help from Aetos, quickly established the man's identity - an on-duty Aetos auxiliary police officer, and Mahadi was arrested within five hours of the robbery.

Without identifying Mahadi by name, the police said the suspect had reported to work at Aetos headquarters in Corporation Drive and drawn his firearm prior to the start of his deployment on Monday.

He then changed out of his uniform and left the headquarters with his firearm without authorisation.

He reported back after allegedly committing the offence, changed into his uniform and took the company's van to his deployment location.

Investigations also revealed the man purportedly deposited part of the stolen cash into the bank account of his friend - Nur Shana Mohd Taib, 34.

She was charged yesterday with one count of receiving stolen property.

Nur Shana is alleged to have received $10,000 shortly after the robbery. If convicted, she could be jailed for up to five years, or fined, or both.

Mahadi allegedly transferred the stolen cash to a few other bank accounts to repay his debt to unlicensed moneylenders.

The police have since arrested eight other people, aged between 16 and 48, in relation to the robbery.

About $17,500 of the cash has been recovered, with efforts to recover the rest under way.

Mahadi has been remanded and is expected back in court next Wednesday. If convicted, he will face life imprisonment and no fewer than six strokes of the cane.

In response to queries from TNP, Aetos did not identify Mahadi by name but said the subject was an auxiliary police officer who performed general security duties at a secured facility.

"Aetos has zero tolerance for any form of criminal conduct by any of its employees, especially the unlawful use of firearms," said the company.

CID director How Kwang Hwee said the suspect had abused the firearm entrusted to him to carry out his duties.

He added that police officers worked swiftly to secure his arrest and managed to do so without harm being caused to the public, given the risk that the robber was allegedly carrying a firearm.

"The police will spare no effort to ensure that such criminals who endanger the public's safety are dealt with firmly and severely in accordance with the law," Senior Assistant Commissioner How said.

Mrs Sumaiya, who was also working in the neighbouring shop during the robbery last November, said her boss will be heightening security measures.

"It is scary (that this happened) in broad daylight. We need to (add) more features for our security."