Father jailed for stealing 55 toys from claw machines by tilting them

A 39-year-old father, identified as Mohamad Fazil Bin Jantan, was sentenced to one week and three days in jail for stealing 55 toys worth S$300 from claw machines by tilting the machines to release the toys.

The incident occurred on 6 January 2023 at a mall in Sembawang, Singapore.

Fazil faced three counts of theft-related charges. The prosecution proceeded with two charges, with the third taken into consideration during sentencing.

According to Sin Ming Daily, Fazil visited the mall with his three children around 8 pm. At approximately 10 pm, they entered a shop containing claw machines, where his children complained about losing several rounds without winning any toys.

In response, Fazil examined the machines and devised a plan to steal the toys. He tilted one claw machine backward, causing several toys to fall into the collection bin. Fazil and his children gathered the toys and placed them into a plastic bag in their shopping cart.

Shortly after, he repeated the act on another claw machine, ultimately taking 55 toys. The toys were valued at S$300 in total.

The shop’s executive director discovered the theft around 10:55 pm on the same day. Upon reviewing surveillance footage, he saw Fazil committing the theft and reported the incident to the police. On 10 January 2023, police identified Fazil and recovered the stolen toys.

In a separate incident on 7 February 2024, Fazil committed shoplifting at a clothing store in Causeway Point. He entered the store around 11:34 am and selected two items: a green shirt and a brown shirt.

Fazil took both shirts into the fitting room but emerged carrying only the green shirt. At the cashier, he claimed he had previously purchased the brown shirt and paid only for the green one, which cost S$14.90.

He removed the radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag from the brown shirt before placing it in his bag. This prevented the store’s alarm system from triggering when he exited.

On 2 December 2024, the court considered both incidents before sentencing Fazil. The judge noted the calculated nature of the crimes and the involvement of his children in the claw machine theft as aggravating factors.

Fazil was represented by the Public Defender’s Office, with Tristan Aden Liow Jian Lin, Mohamed Sarhan s/o Mohamed Ikhbar, Ryan David Lim Jiayong, and Daniel Yeap Zhu Chuean acting as his counsel.

He will serve his sentence for the offences consecutively.