File photo of an elderly woman with a purse. SINGAPORE: An adept thief who has been in and out of jail for the past 50 years struck again, filching tourists' wallets in Singapore.
She would check for observers and closed-circuit television cameras before positioning herself out of the cameras' line of sight. The victim was at a store in Bugis Village with her handbag unzipped when Ng stole her wallet, which contained US$750 and S$85. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jeremy Bin said Ng had been convicted of theft and house-breaking offences in Malaysia in 1977, 1985, 1987, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.She also has several convictions in Singapore for theft, from as early as 1971.Mr Bin said Ng has been offending for 50 years,"almost exclusively committing theft and other property offences".
This son was temporarily in a wheelchair as he had been"standing too long washing dishes to make ends meet", said the lawyer.