Debt is something no one wants to be tied down with for the rest of their lives, which is why some would resort to criminal means in order to settle it once and for all.
A 23-year-old Malaysian nurse working in Singapore recently pleaded guilty to stealing two boxes of Pokémon cards worth more than S$480 (RM1,672) as a way to repay his college debts, resulting in him serving a heavy sentence.
M’sian nurse steals Pokémon cards worth RM1.6K to settle college debts
According to court documents, Fong Jia Wei’s defense lawyers stated that he graduated from a polytechnic in April 2021 but wasn’t given his diploma as he had S$7,000 (RM24,382) in unpaid college fees.
A year later, Fong finally received his diploma after spending his savings and borrowing money from friends to pay off his college fees, reported The Straits Times.
Wanting to repay the loan back to his friends, Fong decided to resort to theft after he saw a TikTok video on Jan 2023, which showed how people could earn money by selling Pokémon cards, where rare cards could be sold between S$10 and S$50 (RM34.80 and RM174) each.
Eager to earn the same amount of money, Fong embarked on a theft spree, with his first theft taking place at the Paya Lebar Square shopping mall on May 2, 2023, where he stole a box of Pokémon cards worth more than $210 (RM731.50).
A police report was later lodged by a retail assistant two days later.
Undeterred, Fong stole another box of Pokémon cards worth $270 (RM940.50) from a convenience store in Commonwealth Avenue on May 9. He earned a total of S$1,000 (RM3,483) after selling the cards he stole online.
Arrested & placed on probation
However, Fong’s crimes were finally brought to an end following his arrest later that day when he was found to be in fraudulent possession of several packets of Pokémon cards.
As for the cards he sold online, it was never recovered.
Fong was subsequently charged in August 2023 and pleaded guilty to two theft charges in court yesterday (May 14).
Fong was sentenced to a year’s probation and ordered to stay indoors from 11pm to 6am every day and perform 40 hours of community service as part of his sentence.
Fong’s parents were also ordered to post a bond of S$5,000 (RM17,416) to guarantee his good behavior.
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