Indonesian suspect charged with Raffles Place robbery and assault

A 38-year old man from Indonesia has been charged for Friday’s attempted robbery and assault at Raffles Place.

The man, who is named only as Arun, is charged with robbing Mr Kang Tie Tie , at about 1pm, at Exit B of Raffles Place MRT station.

Mr Kang was carrying a sling bag which contained nearly $180,000 in cash, and cash cheques which is reported to be valued at $600,000.

Mr Arun is believed to have stabbed Mr Kang with a 12.5 cm long knife, injuring the latter in the right waist, right hip and right upper waist.

Mr Kang, though hurt, had given chase to his alleged assailant, and with the help of passerbys managed to pin Mr Arun down until police arrived.

Both men were later sent to Singapore General Hospital.

Arun was charged through video conferencing while he was in hospital.

Under the law, Mr Arun faces a jail term of two to 10 years, and a minimum of six strokes of the cane for the robbery.

If found guilty of armed robbery, he faces a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane.

This is the second robbery incident this month.

On 5 November, as many as eight men are suspected to have robbed money-changer Ali Yousouf Saiboo in Aljunied Crescent of $600,000.

So far, two Malaysians andanotherhave been charged for the crime. The other five suspects remain at large.