Arrested for theft in Singapore

[Veryworried]

Hi guys, i need your help here. A family member of mine was arrested for bicycle theft. She was seen pushing away a bicycle which does not belong to her.

And because she was panicked, she ran with the bicycle but the police caught her eventually. This is her first offence and it is our first time facing problems with the law. I do not know what to do! Please help me out here.

Can anyone tell me the lightest/heaviest sentence she could get? Jail or fine? Thanks and I appreciate your help and time by reading this..

[zzm9980]

You should seek a defense attorney ASAP.

IMO If she did it, she should plead guilty and beg the court for forgiveness. Media accounts of recent criminal trials show that when numerous defendants are charged, the ones pleading guilty receive significantly lower sentence, even when the ones pleading not-guilty have arguably good justifications.

[zzm9980]

She was seen pushing away a bicycle which does not belong to her.

And don't bother making excuses for her. Just say "she was seen stealing a bike"

[the lynx]

Hi guys, i need your help here. A family member of mine was arrested for bicycle theft. She was seen pushing away a bicycle which does not belong to her.

And because she was panicked, she ran with the bicycle but the police caught her eventually. This is her first offence and it is our first time facing problems with the law. I do not know what to do! Please help me out here.

Can anyone tell me the lightest/heaviest sentence she could get? Jail or fine? Thanks and I appreciate your help and time by reading this..

Too bad we don't have a practising lawyer among us here so we can't exactly tell you what would be the sentence. Maybe jail for few weeks? Maybe together with fine? We don't know.

You need a lawyer.

And if she is really guilty and plead guilty, your lawyer can help to mitigate the sentence on basis that it was her first offence and she's remorseful etc etc etc.

[sundaymorningstaple]

From the Singapore Penal Code....

Theft – Theft is committed when a person, intending to take dishonestly any movable property out of the possession of any person without that person’s consent, moves that property in order to effect the taking.[84] The penalty for theft is imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine, or both.[85] It is more common, however, for offenders to be charged with committing theft in a building, tent or vessel, which is used as a human dwelling, or for the custody of property. The penalty for this more serious offence is imprisonment of up to seven years, and also a fine.[86]

[stupified]

Hi guys, i need your help here. A family member of mine was arrested for bicycle theft. She was seen pushing away a bicycle which does not belong to her.

And because she was panicked, she ran with the bicycle but the police caught her eventually. This is her first offence and it is our first time facing problems with the law. I do not know what to do! Please help me out here.

Can anyone tell me the lightest/heaviest sentence she could get? Jail or fine? Thanks and I appreciate your help and time by reading this..

fine/jail is a criminal conviction...
Since she did not cooperate with the police on site, its quite serious. I cant PM... if you want a lawyer's contact, {use google to find one and do not rely on one poster recommendations. Modified by Moderator}

[winnoe]

Hi guys, i need your help here. A family member of mine was arrested for bicycle theft. She was seen pushing away a bicycle which does not belong to her.

And because she was panicked, she ran with the bicycle but the police caught her eventually. This is her first offence and it is our first time facing problems with the law. I do not know what to do! Please help me out here.

Can anyone tell me the lightest/heaviest sentence she could get? Jail or fine? Thanks and I appreciate your help and time by reading this..

Unfortunately, theft of property is viewed very seriously in Singapore. Furthermore, she resisted and attempted to evade police which further compounds the issue.

I've seen this happen to friends of my friends. There is a 100% chance she will be convicted, sorry to be blunt. If she had stopped when she was first discovered, the police would write it off as a common mischief case and not file as no real harm to either party.

There are now 2 courses of action.

engage a good defense lawyer (about $8-12k for criminal trial proceedings)
Get the lowest setence, convicted but not a fine or jail time and just probabtion.

If you don't have enough money, or feel lucky.

Write in to represent yourself (bad idea), and probably get convicted and a 2 year jail time without a fine. But... you don't spend any money this way...


Sorry if my bluntness offends you, perhaps a chip on my shoulder as I had my Canondale stolen 6 years ago and theft was not caught.

[nutnut]

Sorry if my bluntness offends you

You fit right in!

Welcome to the Forum, only joined today and you are contributing helpful information! That's really refreshing, normally people spam us or ask daft questions.