A Singaporean man accused of robbing a Western Union remittance outlet along Ubi Avenue 1, was charged with armed robbery on Saturday (Aug 5). Hashim Hamzah, 58*, allegedly robbed 28-year-old Hankum Porntip, a female employee of the branch, at knifepoint on Tuesday, leaving the outlet with over S$4,000. He was seen on CCTV footage wearing a helmet and mask at the time. The suspect subsequently fled on a bicycle with a bag containing more than S$1,000, after dropping S$3,000 which was retrieved by staff of the outlet and members of the public. The 58-year-old will be remanded for a week for investigations into suspected involvement in other offences. His case will be mentioned again in court on Aug 11. The punishment for armed robbery is a jail term of between two and 10 years, and at least 12 strokes of the cane. The age limit for caning is 50 years.
