SINGAPORE — A 24-year-old man and 23-year-old woman were charged on Friday (Oct 16) with stealing Budget 2020 grocery vouchers from letterboxes at public housing blocks across Singapore.

Miqhael Wahyudean Abdullah and Irwani Nur Amira Azami, both Singaporeans, were among seven people arrested over the past week for the offences. 

Both face charges of theft with common intention.

They are accused of stealing 15 vouchers each on two occasions at Block 872A Tampines Street 86. They allegedly did this between 8pm on Oct 6 and 3.30am on Oct 7.

The vouchers, which aim to help lower-income Singaporeans with their household expenses, are valued at S$10 each.

Miqhael was not offered bail and a police prosecutor said that they intend to press more charges against him but did not elaborate on the nature of the charges. Irwani was offered bail of S$5,000.

They will return to court on Nov 6.

Those convicted of theft can be jailed up to three years or fined, or both.

Investigations are ongoing into the five other suspects — three men aged between 41 and 54 and two women aged 37 and 44. 

The vouchers, announced in the Unity Budget in February, were mailed to 150,000 Singaporeans aged 21 and above this year who live in one-room and two-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats.

The Ministry of Finance said last Saturday that recipients will each get grocery vouchers worth S$150 in October, another S$150 worth of vouchers in December and vouchers valued at S$100 in October next year.  

The police reminded members of the public on Thursday that those eligible for the vouchers should collect them as soon as possible and ensure their letterbox is always secured.

Anyone who suspects that their vouchers have been stolen is advised to make a police report immediately and call the grocery voucher hotline at 1800-2222-888 to ask that the vouchers be voided and replaced.