SINGAPORE — For nearly a year, the delivery driver siphoned over S$200,000 worth of food products — including Knorr Ikan Bilis, Knorr Tom Yum Paste and BF Thousand Island Dressing — from a warehouse, and sold them to shops in the Joo Chiat area.

The profits were split between driver Mohaya Arwee, 51, and three accomplices.

The court heard today (Nov 26) that Mohaya dishonestly misappropriated over 4,000 cartons of food products between September last year and July this year.

Mohaya, who pleaded guilty to the misappropriation charge, was sentenced to 10 months’ jail for the “exploitation of employment”, as Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet phrased it.

Mohaya was previously working as a delivery driver for Tan Brothers Logistics, along with delivery attendant Ahmad Samat, 57. Both were tasked to collect goods from Lim Siang Huat warehouse at 6 Fishery Port Road in Jurong East and deliver them to customers.

Over time, the duo became acquainted with delivery driver Muhammad Abdul Hafiz Abd Matin and delivery attendant Mohammed Fazli Mohammed Shafiee, who were both employed by Lim Siang Huat.

Last year, Hafiz, 31, and Fazli, 34, hatched a plan to sell off the food products at the warehouse for profit. Mohaya and Ahmad were roped in.

Their ploy included having Mohaya drive his lorry to the warehouse early in the day, at about 7.50am, so that they could avoid detection by others. And while Fazli loaded the cartons onto his trolley in the warehouse, Hafiz would act as a look-out.

The goods would be loaded onto the lorry, and Mohaya and Ahmad would then sell them to other shops at a lower cost.

Their misdeeds came to light after the Lim Siang Huat general manager discovered goods missing from the warehouse.

To date, S$9,351.62 worth of goods have been recovered.

Ahmad and Fazli will return to court next Thursday for a pre-trial conference, while Hafiz intends to plead guilty on Dec 10. For dishonestly misappropriating goods, they could be jailed up to two years, fined, or both.