​SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old Malaysian man, accused of being the main instigator of an armed robbery at Aljunied Crescent that took place in 2014, was charged on Friday (Nov 6).

Baskaran Balakrishnan is believed to be one of nine men involved in robbing money changer Ali Yousouf Saiboo of more than S$624,000 in Singapore and foreign currencies.

The robbers, clad in face masks and balaclavas (coverings for the head and neck) with plasters stuck on their fingertips, ambushed Mr Saiboo when he arrived at the car park of Block 110, Aljunied Crescent. 

They smashed his car’s windows with a crowbar before dragging him out and assaulting him.

Baskaran had been on the run since the incident on Nov 5, 2014. 

At least six men — mostly Malaysians — have already been prosecuted, receiving jail sentences and caning in 2016 and 2017.

By September 2017, another three Malaysians, including Baskaran, still had not been caught. The others are Sivaraam Monion, 32, and David Mark Mari, 38.

A police prosecutor told the court on Friday that other individuals involved in the incident remain at large but did not elaborate on how many. 

It is also not known how Baskaran was caught. 

He appeared through a video-link on Friday clad in a red polo T-shirt. 

District Judge Tan Jen-Tse ordered for him to be remanded until he returns to court on Nov 13. 

If convicted of armed robbery with hurt, he could be jailed at least five years and up to 20 years, and receive at least 12 strokes of the cane.

THE ASSAULT

During earlier hearings, the court heard that at 12.50am on Nov 5 in 2014, five men ambushed Mr Saiboo at an open-air car park.

Mr Saiboo, then the manager of a money changer at The Arcade in Collyer Quay, had collected some currencies from couriers at Changi Airport Terminal 2.

Along with his son, then aged two, he headed for his father-in-law’s house to hand over the money for safekeeping.

The firm employed couriers to deliver currencies in cash to its customers based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

The couriers also collected currencies from these customers to be delivered to the firm in Singapore.

As the manager, Mr Saiboo would collect the currencies from the couriers once they arrived in Singapore and then keep the cash temporarily in his flat or at his father-in-law’s residence at Aljunied Crescent.

During the robbery, the five men deliberately parked their car in front of Mr Saiboo’s car, to block him from driving away.

The robbers smashed the windows with a crowbar before dragging him out. Some of them also rained blows on his body. 

Throughout the incident, Mr Saiboo’s child was in the front passenger seat.

The robbers then took items from the car’s trunk including two mobile phones and two black luggage bags containing Singapore currency amounting to S$231,082 and American currency amounting to US$210,000 (S$286,000) and Saudi Riyals amounting to about S$213,000.

All the suspects fled to Malaysia except for one who remained in Singapore.