SINGAPORE — A part-time actor who kept stealing undergarments went out to pinch these items even when the Government had imposed stay-home restrictions. He was eventually found with more than 100 bras and 41 pairs of panties in his house.

Lee Chee Kin, 39, who worked part-time with Mediacorp’s Vasantham Channel, was sentenced on Monday (June 8) to 23 weeks' jail after he pleaded guilty to 10 charges of theft, criminal trespass, unauthorised access to computer material, as well as a breach of Covid-19 regulations last month. 

Another 14 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

In seeking a jail sentence of three to five months for Lee, his lawyer, Mr Roche Eng, told the court that the accused recognises his “peculiar hobby of collecting undergarments”, and is remorseful and regretful for his actions.

However, District Judge Teo Guan Kee said that characterising what he did as a result of a peculiar hobby “grossly trivialises his actions”.

WHAT HE DID

Lee admitted last month that he had stolen the underwear between April 2018 and April this year, doing so by selecting them “based on their appearance”, climbing over back gates and entering laundry areas to take them before climbing back out. 

The locations and addresses of the residences were removed from court documents. 

In total, he entered his victims’ homes on at least 30 occasions, stealing at least 34 bras, 42 pairs of panties and one pair of bra straps.

The priciest thefts occurred in a single unit. Lee climbed over the back gate of a house four times between February and March 2019, and took from its back yard 12 bras and 12 pairs of panties worth S$1,000. 

The court also heard that Lee kept a man’s debit card that he found at Ang Mo Kio MRT Station in May 2019 and spent about S$91 with the card.

He was caught in the wee hours of July 12 last year, leading to a police raid at his home where 106 bras and 41 panties were found.

Still, he committed a fresh set of offences in the early hours of April 15 this year while on court bail. Covid-19 regulations were in force at this time to prohibit non-essential outdoor activities, but he was not wearing a mask and was out looking for bras and panties to steal between 12am and 2.15am.

ACTIONS DISTURBED NEIGHBOURS

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kwang Jia Min sought a jail term of at least six months for Lee, considering the number of intrusions and the purpose of his trespass.

Lee had “created a sense of grave personal insecurity to the residents, especially the female victims, living in the affected neighbourhoods” by intruding into the privacy of their homes, she said.

“This insecurity is heightened by the fact that the accused could repeatedly intrude upon the privacy of their homes on more than one occasion,” she added.

Lee’s lawyer sought a sentence of about three to five months, pointing out that what separates Lee from other cases is that he is “a bit of a late bloomer who developed later than an average person”.

He noted that Lee was taking a diploma course, but his studies had to come to an abrupt end because he was remanded from April 18. 

Before that, he has not been able to secure a regular job and did not have much savings, he said, adding that he last worked as a part-time actor with Vasantham Channel.

“He had a few minor roles acting in a few series, but was never able to obtain a full-time job with Mediacorp on a regular basis,” Mr Eng said. 

Lee, who attended the hearing via video conferencing tool Zoom from Changi Prison where he was remanded, chimed in at one point to urge the judge’s leniency in giving him a lighter sentence.

Saying that his fiancee is in court and that he wants to take care of his elderly parents, Lee said: “Two months inside, I learnt a lot of things. I hope you can be merciful to me and give me a lighter sentence to turn over a new leaf.”

He added that once he is out of jail, he would like to do some charity work “to become a better person and citizen”. He also stated that he would continue to seek treatment for his fetishistic tendencies and take up his part-time diploma course again.

For each offence of criminal trespass, Lee could have been jailed up to three months, fined up to S$500, or both.

For theft, he could have been jailed up to three years, fined, or both.

Each breach of Covid-19 regulations could have put him in jail for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.